TITAN by David Polk

TITAN
By
David Polk
An Original Screenplay
176 Dusty Rose Court

Simi Valley, CA 93065
805-428-5775
dpolk@mac.com
FADE IN:
SATURN - VARIOUS SHOTS

The ringed planet. One of the most magnificent sights in
the Solar System.
TITAN - FROM SPACE

The large, orange-hued ice moon in orbit around Saturn. A
FLASH in the moon’s dense atmosphere as a SPACECRAFT shoots
upward and into the far reaches of space...
EARTH - FROM SPACE

The familiar blue marble. The spacecraft from Titan floats
into frame, headed toward Earth.
SUPERIMPOSE: 10,000 years ago
The spacecraft rockets into Earth’s atmosphere.
FADE OUT.
FADE UP:
EXT. WOODS - DAY

SUPERIMPOSE: Norfolk, Virginia. Today.
Four BOYS move stealthily through thick brush. Each of them
sports a toy submachine gun, a special ops radio headset and
camouflage face paint. The leader, MATT RAMSAY (11),
directs the boys with crisp hand signals. He’s deadly
serious.
The youngest "soldier" is Matt’s adorable little brother,
ZACH (6). He’s bringing up the rear. Suddenly he freezes,
frightened by what he sees on the ground. A GARTER SNAKE.
ZACH
Ahhh!
Zach’s yelp crackles in the headsets of the other boys and
they react. Matt turns his head, irritated.
MATT
(sharply)
What is it now?!
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 2.
ZACH
(loudly)
Snake!
MATT
Shit! Is that all? Team, back to
radio sil --
RAT-TAT-TAT. An enemy force of four OTHER BOYS swoop in on
Matt’s team, shouting war cries and blasting away with toy
guns. The battle quickly goes hand-to-hand as the boys
wrestle and kick and karate chop away.
EXT. CLEARING - LATER

Matt and his team, dirty and beaten, emerge from the
woods. He reams out his little brother as they go.
MATT
Stealth means quiet, Zach! We’re
all dead now because of you! And
the worst thing is, thanks to you
we failed in the mission!
ZACH
(near tears)
Sorry, Matt. But it was a big
snake.
STEVIE
I told you we shouldn’t have
brought him, Matt. He’s just a big
baby. A little "Mama’s Boy!"
ZACH
(defiant)
Am not!
MATT
Shut it, Stevie!
Stevie does as he’s told. But he flicks his finger in the
back of Zach’s head. The little guy reacts, "Ow!"
EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - SUNSET

Modest, well-kept cookie cutter homes line a quiet
street. The boys break up to go their separate ways. Zach
looks up the block, frowns at what he sees. Matt’s face
clouds too, but he quickly covers his emotion.
3.
EXT. RAMSAY HOME - SUNSET

A taxi waits out front. MATTHEW RAMSAY (35), in the crisp
khakis of a Navy officer, walks toward the car toting a
travel bag. He sees Matt and Zach running toward
him. Smiles.
MATTHEW
Boys!
MATT/ZACH
Dad!
Matthew tousles Matt’s hair, looks down with pride at
Zach. It’s now we see that he wears the SILVER OAK LEAF of
a full commander and the DOLPHIN INSIGNIA of a submariner.
MATTHEW
Glad you boys made it back before I
ship out.
MATT
But you weren’t due to ship out for
another two weeks.
A stern look from the commander stifles the boy’s
protest. Officers don’t gripe.
ZACH
Dad, you said we’d go fishing.
Matthew kneels, hold’s Zach’s shoulders, looks in his eyes.
MATTHEW
We’ll go the first day I get back,
Skipper, promise... Look, you boys
know the drill. While I’m away,
snap to when your mom gives an
order. And no back talk. She’s
got enough to deal with without you
two monkeys giving her lip.
Matthew glances at the boys’ mother, SANDY (33), in the
doorway watching the goodbye scene. She’s blond, blue-eyed,
lovely - the very essence of a dutiful Navy wife.
MATT/ZACH
Okay, Dad. Sure.
MATTHEW
And remember: mission, men,
self. Always in that order.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 4.
MATT/ZACH
Aye, Captain.
Zach flashes a devilishly charming smile. Matthew gives the
boys a hug, looks once more at Sandy, who smiles. Then he’s
off to the taxi.
FADE OUT.
FADE UP:
INT. C-130 - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

The DRONE of powerful turbine engines. The back of the
plane gapes open and we hear the urgent rush of sub-zero
winds.
SUPERIMPOSE: 24 years later
ANGLE ON a SEAL LEADER, his face covered in black-green
tiger stripe camouflage paint.
A green light flashes and the SEAL leader stands, slides a
clear oxygen mask over his face. As he does, WIDEN to show
seven other black-clad NAVY SEALs who follow suit and take
position at the back of the aircraft.
A FLIGHT CREW MEMBER listens for the signal in her
headphones. When it comes --
FLIGHT CREW MEMBER
(points, shouts)
Go! Go!
The SEALs jump out of the aircraft into the night sky.
EXT. SKY - NIGHT

The SEALS hurl downward like eight human missiles.
WHAT THEY SEE: Earth, a mile below, black and closing
fast. Fierce, freezing winds. A terrifying experience for
most.
EXT. OCEAN - NIGHT

ANGLE UP from the calm surface and we can just make out a
black parachute against the murky sky. Then another. And
another. Moments before impact the SEALs free their chutes.
5.
Four objects hit the water too. The SEALs swim toward
them. These are low-profile, high-speed water skiffs. The
SEALs climb on, one drives, another on his back.
EXT. OIL RIG - AERIAL VIEW - NIGHT

A massive, multideck structure rising 60 meters above the
ocean’s surface. Rig workers go about their business in the
defeaning roar of diesel generators and the constant
pounding of metal-on-metal.
Men with assault rifles seem out of place patrolling decks.
INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

A high-tech room crammed with consoles and monitors. Large
observation windows look out onto the black sea and sky. No
land for 150 miles.
Three TERRORISTS oversee six nervous OPERATORS. Though of
different races, the terrorists speak Arabic to each other,
English to their captives. TERRORIST 1 spots something on a
radar screen.
TERRORIST 1
Commander, here! Look at this!
The TERRORIST LEADER, a powerful, menacing black man, turns
from the window and goes to stand with TERRORIST 1 behind a
RADAR OPERATOR.
TERRORIST LEADER
(snarls)
What is it?
TERRORIST 1
(points)
There, an aircraft of some kind.
TERRORIST LEADER
(to radar operator)
Why didn’t you alert us to this?!
RADAR OPERATOR
(sweating bullets)
It wasn’t there a second ago, I
swear... It’s eighty kilometers
out. Going away from our
location. A commercial flight, I’m
sure.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 6.
TERRORIST LEADER
Lying dog!
Before the radar operator can protest, the terrorist leader
produces a knife and slits his throat. He falls out of his
chair, blood quickly flowing around him on the floor.
The terrorist leader wipes his knife clean on the dying
man’s shirt. Glowers at another OPERATOR.
TERRORIST LEADER
You. Take his place.
The operator leaves his station, sits in the radar
operator’s chair, tries to avoid looking down at his
murdered coworker.
TERRORIST LEADER
(to operators)
Let this be a lesson. You have
only one hope of survival: submit
and obey without hesitation.
(to Terrorist 2)
Alert Vahid to take off and search
for submarines.
TERRORIST 2 begins speaking into a hand-held radio.
EXT. OIL RIG - BASE - NIGHT

Six SEALs emerge from the waves and secure themselves to the
base of the rig. They strip off their high-altitude
jumpsuits, revealing formed-fitted battle suits.
EXT. OIL RIG - UPPER DECKS - NIGHT

QUICK CUTS of searchlights crisscrossing the sky and sea;
terrorists mobilizing - herding rig workers into holding
areas and taking positions with shoulder-held antiaircraft
missiles; a Seahawk subhunter takes off from the helo pad.

The terrorist leader barks into a hand-held radio:
TERRORIST LEADER
We have radar contact. Nothing on
sonar yet but be prepared.
7.
INT. LIVING QUARTERS - NIGHT

TERRORIST 3 speaks into his radio.
TERRORIST 3
We are prepared. You don’t believe
the British would be foolish enough
to attempt another rescue, do you?
TERRORIST LEADER (V.O.)
I do. The Americans and British
have stealth aircraft and could be
on us any minute.
TERRORIST 3
But that would be madness. They
would not dare sacrifice --
TERRORIST LEADER (V.O.)
(interrupts)
Are you prepared to act without
hesitation?!
TERRORIST 3
Yes, of course! We will do as we
have sworn to do!
He clicks off the radio, looks at another terrorist and nods
with conviction. Then he turns to face 50 CAPTIVES, members
of the rig crew. They’re all bound together.
EXT. OIL RIG - VARIOUS DECKS - NIGHT

QUICK CUTS of the six SEALs as they flit through shadows
like ghosts. They know every inch of the rig and where to
go to avoid detection. As they move they attach magnetized
BLACK BOXES to the structure and flick a switch, turning on
a red light. They take hidden positions on the rig and
wait.
EXT. SUPPORT VESSEL #1 - NIGHT

A seventh SEAL climbs up the side of the tender, which is
moored to the rig.
8.

The eighth SEAL climbs up and slips over the side onto the
deck, finds cover behind a launch.

The terrorist leader talks into a satellite phone.
TERRORIST LEADER
No! I warn you, if you have
foolishly ignored our demands you
will feel our wrath! The blood of
these soulless dogs will be on your
hands.
INT. SITUATION ROOM

The British DEFENSE MINISTER is leaning over a speakerphone
at a huge conference table.
DEFENSE MINISTER
I say again, there have been no, I
repeat, no Coalition flights over
your position.
INTERCUT: CONTROL ROOM/SITUATION ROOM
TERRORIST LEADER
You think we’re fools?! Listen to
me clearly, Defense Minister: five
have died, all will follow at the
first sight of any of your forces.
DEFENSE MINISTER
What will that prove? That you can
murder innocent, unarmed men and
women? If you truly wish to be
recognized by governments --
Click. The Defense Minister looks around the table at the
grim FACES of military officers and aides.
The terrorist leader slams the phone down. He pulls a
CONTROL PAD out from under his jacket. He glares at the
other terrorists in the room. They take position, ready to
execute the operators when ordered. The operators shit
bricks.
9.
EXT. OIL RIG - DECKS/SUPPORT VESSELS - NIGHT

The SEAL leader hides in the shadows of a deck and looks at
his watch. In his hand is a PDA-like device. He presses a
button...
ON A BULKHEAD
The red light on a magnetized black box TURNS GREEN.
RETURN TO SCENE
Suddenly, the giant rig and its two support vessels are
bathed in an eerie green glow. The SEAL leader taps a
button on his tunic, steps into the light and he...
vanishes. All we see are the fire bursts from his
submachine gun as he opens up.
SEALs on the rig and support vessels strike at the same
time, disappearing in the green fog and mowing down confused
terrorists, who fire on each other in the chaos.
INT. SEAHAWK - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

The TERRORIST PILOT and crew are confounded by what they see
below. Firefights have broken out all over the rig but
there is no sign of the enemy.
TERRORIST PILOT
(into headset)
What is going on?! We’re killing
each other!

The terrorist leader moves from window to window, looking
for signs of the enemy. He shouts into his hand-held radio.
TERRORIST LEADER
Report! Report! Where are
they?! Confirm contact! Report!

The pilot and co-pilot scan instruments, the sky and the
sea.
TERRORIST PILOT
Nothing! We see nothing!
10.

The terrorist leader grabs the control panel and angrily
punches buttons. Nothing happens. Furious, he unholsters
his .45 automatic and shoots an operator, killing him
instantly. Terrorists 1 and 2 are about to open fire on the
other four operators when one of them lunges at the
terrorist leader.
The operators know its now or never: they rush the
terrorists and fight for their lives. Bullets ricochet
through the control room.
INT. CREW QUARTERS - NIGHT

Terrorist 3 and two others are about to massacre the
panicked crew members when the windows blow out and hatches
blow off hinges. Two uncloaked SEALs rush in, guns blazing.
EXT. OIL RIG - AERIAL VIEW - NIGHT

As the Seahawk circles, the green haze that covered the rig
fades. The SEALs are now visible.

A terrorist spots an uncloaked SEAL near the bridge and
opens fire. The diminutive, nimble SEAL ducks behind a
bulkhead, barely misses being hit. Another terrorist joins
in the shooting from the opposite side and they riddle the
area with bullets. When the SEAL doesn’t return fire, they
stop shooting, signal each other to close in.
ANGLE ON the terrorists’ boots as they slowly make their way
forward. We hear a WHISK-WHISK, then a pair of boots stop
in their tracks. MOVE UP the body of the first terrorist to
reveal a Ninja SHURIKEN (throwing star) impaled in his
chest. He falls dead to the deck at the same time as the
second terrorist, who has taken a shuriken between the eyes.
The dimunutive SEAL comes out of hiding and goes below
decks.
INT. SUPPORT VESSEL #1, BELOW DECKS - NIGHT

The petite SEAL opens a hatch and enters a cabin where a
dozen frightened RIG WORKERS are bound together.
11.

Two more operators lay dead in puddles of blood. The
terrorists are about to execute the remaining two when the
windows and hatch implode from the force of a concussion
grenade.
SEALs cut down two terrorists with machine gun fire, but the
terrorist leader escapes out the window. He falls to the
deck hard, but scrambles to his feet...
EXT. TOPSIDE DECK - NIGHT

We TRACK with the terrorist leader through the chaos of
firefights that are still raging. It becomes clear that he
is looking to manually detonate bombs that he was unable to
explode with his control panel.

The pilot spots his leader and realizes what he’s trying to
do. He brings the gunship around to destroy the rig.
EXT./INT. C-130 - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

The aircraft descends from the night sky and levels off. On
the flight deck, the crew prepares for action.
AMERICAN PILOT
(into headset)
Starfire, this is Rambo One, twenty
miles out, ten minutes from
extract.
STARFIRE (V.O.)
Roger that, Rambo One. We
copy. Hope they’re good to go.

A SEAL shoots the last terrorist on board with a handgun
then takes a shoulder-held antiaircraft rocket from another
dead terrorist. The SEAL takes aim at the Seahawk. We
notice he’s chewing gum.
12.

The terrorist pilot’s finger is poised above the trigger to
fire his missiles. The co-pilot sees the flash from support
vessel #2, he points and shouts --

WHAT THE GUM CHEWING SEAL SEES. The antiaircraft missile
flies straight into the open side door of the Seahawk. The
helicopter bursts into a huge fireball.
EXT. MID-DECK - NIGHT

A SEAL kicks ass in hand-to-hand combat, landing a flying
roundhouse kick to the head of a terrorist before flipping
him over the side of the rig.
The SEAL pauses to watch the splash then turns, too late, to
see the terrorist leader. He shoots the SEAL in the thigh
with his .45 and keeps running.

The SEAL leader fires a flare gun skyward.

The pilot and co-pilot see the red flare streaking
ahead. The co-pilot flips switches on his console.
EXT. C-130 - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

CLOSE ON a metal "V"-shaped grapple that lowers from the
nose of the aircraft and locks into position.

Rig workers emerge from below deck. They watch as the
smallish SEAL walks to the stern. A terrorist who was
playing dead gets to his knees just as the SEAL passes
him. Before a rig worker can shout a warning, the SEAL -
without breaking stride - turns, shoots the terrorist dead
with a single shot and keeps moving. The rig workers are
duly impressed.
13.
At the back of the ship, the SEAL whips out a flat piece of
rubber, pulls a ripcord and the rubber instantly inflates
into a LARGE BALLOON that quickly rises into the sky.
Attached to the balloon is a CABLE. The SEAL hooks it to a
chest harness.

With no sign of living terrorists, the SEALs prepare for
extraction. Four of them take position at the extraction
spot, MK59 submachine guns ready. The SEAL leader strides
across the deck toward them. A chiseled, black, BALD SEAL
points and shouts.
BALD SEAL
Skipper! The Chief!
The SEAL leader looks to his right, sees the the CHIEF - the
ass-kicking SEAL who was shot in the thigh - struggling up a
ladder from a lower deck.

Through cockpit windows we see the oil rig in the distance.

The SEAL leader races across the deck to the Chief. When he
gets there, the Chief looks up and we realize she’s a woman.
CHIEF
I can make it! I don’t need help!
SEAL LEADER
And I’m Mahatma Ghandi.
He pulls her up from the ladder. The four SEALs at the
extraction point release their balloons.
ANOTHER SEAL
(shouts)
Skipper! Trains-a-comin’!
The SEAL leader hoists the Chief onto his shoulder
firefighter style, pulls the rip cord on his balloon and
sends it aloft. He holds the Chief’s thighs tightly. She
curses in pain, looks up, sees the terrorist leader on the
ladder taking aim at them with his .45 --
We hear the ROAR of approaching aircraft engines overhead --
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 14.
In one swift motion, the Chief grabs the SEAL leader’s SIG
9mm and shoots the terrorist between the eyes --
At that exact moment the SEALs at the extraction spot are
whisked off the deck, their balloon cables snagged by the
C-130’s "V"-grapple. An instant later the SEAL leader and
the Chief are swept away with them.
Rescued rig workers watch in astonishment as all eight Navy
SEALs fly off into the night sky, dangling behind the C-130.

An AIRMAN slams the side door, shutting out the violent
wind. The SEALs sit on benches, unfastening gear and
dropping it on the floor of the plane. A MEDIC tends to the
Chief, who is grimacing in pain on a cot.
MEDIC
You’re a lucky duck,
Chief. Another inch to the left
and it would’ve hit the artery.
SEAL LEADER
Maybe you should start running a
tab, huh, Chief?
The Chief smirks. The other SEALs chuckle. The SEAL leader
flashes a devilishly charming smile and we realize that he
is ZACH RAMSAY (30).
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. O’AHU, VARIOUS SHOTS - DAY

Establishing the Hawaiian island, over which we hear
children playing.
EXT. RAMSAY HOME, BACKYARD - DAY

A child’s birthday party is in full swing. Eight-year-olds
watch excitedly as a clown fashions balloon animals.
INT. RAMSAY HOME, FAMILY ROOM - DAY

ON TV a BBC REPORTER talks gravely at the CAMERA:
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 15.
BBC REPORTER (V.O.)

Survivors of the four-day ordeal
say the assault on the oil rig
- some two hundred miles off the
coast of Oman - was swift and
brutal, ending less than twenty
minutes after it began. And when
it was over, all twenty-five Red
Siege terrorists were dead. Nine
oil rig crew died, five of them at
the hands of terrorists in the days
before the rescue assault began...
VIDEO FOOTAGE of the survivors being evacuated and the oil
rig in the aftermath of the assault.
BBC REPORTER (V.O.)
The remaining one hundred twenty
crew members were safely
evacuated. Miraculously, the rig
was undamaged in the assault. A
far different result from a month
ago, when a rescue attempt on an
oil rig by Russian commandos ended
in tragedy. In that failed
attempt, one hundred twenty rig
workers and twenty commandos died,
the rig completely destroyed in
horrific explosions. So far
Russia, Britain and the U.S. have
remained mum as to who is behind
this successful rescue for fear of
worsening already tense Middle East
relations. Reporting from the
Arabian Sea, this is Wilhelmina
Scott-Davies.
MAN 1 (O.S.)
My God. Two rigs in two months.
A group of MEN and WOMEN (late 20s, early 30s) sit around
the room watching television. These are parents of the
children attending the party outside.
MAN 2
At least this one didn’t blow up
with everybody on board.
WOMAN
Still, it’s horrible. Nine
innocent people killed. And for
what?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 16.
MAN 3
I’ll tell you for what. Asia and
Western Europe are starving for
oil. If we don’t stop the
terrorists over there, we’ll be
staging rescues in the Gulf of
Mexico.
WOMAN 2
I’ve heard that in some cities
people wait in gas lines for hours.
MAN 1
They say that’s what it was like
way back in the nineteen seventies.
SANDY (O.S.)
Alright, enough of this!
The young parents turn to face SANDY RAMSAY (57). Still as
lovely as when we first saw her in the doorway of her home,
but very annoyed at the moment.
SANDY
This is my granddaughter’s birthday
party, not a press conference. It’s
time for cake and candles.
WOMAN 2
Sorry, Mrs. Ramsay.
Sandy turns off the television with the remote control. The
young parents file past her and out the sliding glass door
to the backyard.
Before Sandy follows, she pauses to look at a curio cabinet
full of FAMILY PHOTOS, including: a handsome young Naval
officer being fed wedding cake by a beautiful brunette; the
same man and woman with an adorable little girl; the man
smiling with an Annapolis cadet who’s flashing a devilish
grin...
HOLD on a portrait of the young Ramsay family as we remember
them in our opening scenes: Matthew in uniform, Sandy,
11-year-old Matt and 6-year-old Zach.

CLOSE ON - BIRTHDAY CAKE
"Happy Birthday Maggie" is surrounded by 8 candles.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 17.
PULL BACK to show party GUESTS gathered around the cake and
the birthday girl, MAGGIE RAMSAY (8), smiling and cute as
can be. A woman we recognize as the beautiful brunette in
the photos lights the candles. This is MADELINE RAMSAY
(33), known to her family and friends as "Maddy".
MADDY
Okay, everybody. Happy Birthday!
...
EVERYBODY
...to you! Happy Birth --
ZACH (O.S.)
(booming)
DAY TO YOU!
Everybody turns to see Zach coming from inside the
house. He’s in the dress whites of a Navy Lieutenant,
carrying a huge GIFT, smiling that rakish smile of
his. Sandy and Maddy beam and the 8-year-old girls giggle
with delight at the dreamy officer, but it’s Maggie who’s
most thrilled.
MAGGIE
Uncle Zach! Uncle Zach!
She runs to him and he scoops her in his arms, kisses her.
ZACH
Magpie!
MAGGIE
I knew you’d make it! I knew you
wouldn’t miss my birthday!
ZACH
You can always count on me, Kid.
INT. RAMSAY HOME, FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT

The party is over. Sandy, Maddy and Zach talk as Maggie
plays with a beautiful DOLL HOUSE.
MADDY
Zach, you being here means so much
to Maggie, especially since Matt
couldn’t be.
(re: Maggie playing)
And it looks like you hit the
jackpot again.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 18.
MAGGIE
Oh I love it, Uncle Zach! How did
you know it’s just what I wanted?
SANDY
(humored skepticism)
Yes, Zach, just how did you know?
ZACH
Oh, I don’t know, Mom, I guess I’m
just a modern, sensitive guy who
knows what women really want.
Maddy and Sandy rolls their eyes. They know the dashing
Navy SEAL is a ladies’ man.
MADDY
Maggie, honey, it’s getting close
to your bedtime. Better go up and
brush your teeth.
MAGGIE
Aw, Mom! I hardly got a chance to
talk to Uncle Zach.
MADDY
Go ahead, honey. Besides, it’s
getting pretty deep in here and I
wouldn’t want you to drown.
MAGGIE
Huh?
ZACH
Go on and brush those pearly
whites, Magpie. I’ll be up later
to say goodnight.
MAGGIE
Okay. Goodnight, Grandma.
She goes to Sandy and kisses her.
SANDY
Goodnight, dear.
After the child exits, Sandy and Maddy fall into what has
obviously become a routine.
MADDY
You know, Zach, for a guy who
"knows what women really want,"
it’s taking you an awfully long
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 19.
MADDY (CONT’D.)
time to settle down with one of
them.
SANDY
Both your father and brother were
married with a family by the time
they were your age.
ZACH
That’s because Dad and Matt got the
two best girls in the world, so
there’s no one left for me. Trust
me, I know.
MADDY
You ought to, you’ve sampled
enough.
ZACH
(grins)
Now, Maddy, don’t hate.
Maddy shakes her head disapprovingly but even she can’t help
but love her sexy-adorable bother-in-law.
SANDY
You don’t have to look very far to
find the perfect girl, Zach.
ZACH
(reacts)
Mom, not that again. I thought we
put a fork in this one already.
SANDY
Tess adores you, and she
understands you better than
anyone. You said so yourself.
MADDY
More importantly, she has enough
dirt on you to keep you from
prowling around at night.
ZACH
Yeah, that’s just what I want, the
old ball and chain that can land me
in Fort Leavenworth with one phone
call... Anyway, you both know the
Navy forbids relationships between
officers and sailors.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (4) 20.
SANDY
I also know Tess would resign from
the Navy the second she thought you
were serious about giving you and
her a chance.
ZACH
That’s where you’re wrong, Mom. I
know her a lot better than you do,
and Contessa Cortez is a lifer.
Before Sandy can disagree, she’s seized by a strange
feeling. Zach and Sandy both clock this and react,
concerned.
ZACH
Mom?
MADDY
Mom, are you alright?
Sandy looks at Zach and Maddy then shifts her focus to the
family photos in the curio cabinet. She stares at one of
her with her husband Matthew. Then her eyes drift to the
PHOTO next to it - a Navy portrait of her son, Matt.
SANDY
(prescient)
Oh... My...
EXT. OCEAN/UNDERWATER
The sleek black hull of a Seawolf-class nuclear attack
submarine materializes from the cobalt twilight, glides past
us 900 feet below the ocean’s surface.
INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, CAPTAIN’S QUARTERS

CLOSE ON a framed DIGITAL PHOTO of Maddy and Maggie, smiling
prettily. The photo morphs to just Maddy, lovely as ever.
ANOTHER ANGLE and we see Commander MATT RAMSAY (35),
handsome as his younger brother but more serious, sitting at
his desk typing on a small laptop computer. He glances at
the image of his wife and smiles to himself. He continues
typing an e-mail that we somehow know is for her.
Pinned to the wall above the desk is a SNAPSHOT of Matt and
Zach taken about five years earlier. They’re on a deep sea
fishing boat, showing off a swordfish caught by one of them.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 21.
X.O.’S VOICE (V.O.)

Captain, unidentified sonar
contact. It’s unusual, sir.
MATT
(presses intercom button)
On my way.
He’s about to close the laptop but stops, considers.
Beat. He hits the "send" button then closes the computer.
INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, PASSAGEWAYS

Matt moves casually but with purpose through his sub,
returning the crisp salutes of crew members with easy ones
of his own.
INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, CONTROL CENTER

The control and attack center is bathed in a warm red
light. The COMMAND CREW focuses intently on their work.
CREWMAN (O.S.)
Captain on deck!
Matt appears and the men are briefly at attention before --
MATT
As you were. Sit rep.
X.O.
Sir, unidentified vessel, bearing
two-one-four, one thousand feet.
MATT
Russian?
SONARMAN
Negative, sir. And not Chinese.
MATT
Propulsion?
X.O.
(nods)
No screws, sir.
MATT
(intrigued)
Speed?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 22.
SONARMAN
Thirty-five knots, sir.
Matt and his X.O. (Executive Officer) exchange a look. From
this point on, we see that Matt is a masterful skipper -
calm, confident and supremely capable in command.
MATT
Raise the ESM. Have the ROV go to
stand by.
X.O.
Aye, sir.
He repeats the orders into a handset. As he does --
MATT
Helm, put me on her tailpipe.
HELMSMAN
Aye-aye, Captain. Coming around to
two-one-four.
MATT
Communications, signal our position
to CINCPAC. Let them know we’ve
got something unusual on the grid.
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
Yes, sir.
He repeats the command to a SEAMAN sitting at a workstation.
INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, CREW QUARTERS

A glimpse of life for Jimmy Carter’s off duty
crew. Shooting the shit, listening to music, writing
letters and e-mails home, playing cards, video games, etc.

We are looking at Matt through a large glass chart - the
Electronic Position Board - which depicts a graphic
representation of the underwater world. The NAVIGATOR is
beside him, gesturing to the chart.
NAVIGATOR
She’s headed for the Marianas
Trench, sir.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 23.
MATT
ETA?
NAVIGATOR
Twenty-five minutes at their
present course and speed.
MATT
(to X.O.)
Action stations.
X.O.
Aye, sir.
(lifts microphone)
All hands, this is the X.O. Action
stations. Action stations.
INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, VARIOUS SHOTS

All through the ship the crew hurries to action stations.
An enormous, translucent ALIEN VESSEL slices past us.

Matt and his X.O. are directly behind the SONARMAN
now. Seeing what he sees.
SONARMAN
I’ve never seen anything like this,
sir. It’s got a unique signature -
no reactor noise at all and no
trace of cavitation. But it’s
there.
MATT
I know. I see it.
SONARMAN
(suddenly)
Whoa! She’s diving, sir!
24.
The alien vessel turns over and noses downward with
remarkable agility, like a dolphin at play.

Matt, the sonarman and the X.O. watch the sonar, astonished.
X.O.
Sixty knots?! That’s not
possible. Is it?!
SONARMAN
Aye, sir. And she’s changed
heading to two-one-niner. Diving
thirty degrees to two thousand
feet!
X.O.
She’s going for cover in the
Trench.
MATT
Helm, stay with her.
HELMSMAN
Aye-aye, Captain. Right on her.
Tension in the control center builds as the sub surges in
pursuit of the unknown foe.
SAME SCENE - LATER
The command crew are sweating, fixed to their workstations.
SONARMAN
Contact now bearing two-six-oh.
She’s coming about, sir.
(looks at Matt)
She’s circling back toward us, sir.
MATT
Open outer doors. Point-to-point
firing procedures.
X.O.
Aye, sir.
(to crewman)
Open outer doors. Firing package
Bravo six-six-zero-niner.
Lots of back-and-forth between crew carrying out orders.
25.
EXT. ALIEN VESSEL

A brilliant flash of light is emitted from the front of the
ship, sending reverberations through the depths.

An ALARM blares.
SONARMAN
They’ve fired at us, sir!
MATT
Open tubes four and six!
X.O.
Tubes four and six open!
SONARMAN
Single bogey, bearing two-zero-two,
twelve hundred yards and closing
fast... nine hundred yards, seven
hundred yards...
A beat as Matt waits for it.
MATT
Fire four and six!
The FIRE CONTROL OFFICER punches buttons...
EXT. USS JIMMY CARTER

Two torpedoes shoot from the nose of the sub.

The sonarman and the X.O. watch the sonar. Another ALARM.
X.O.
Collision warning! Hold on, this
could get rough!
MATT
Hard left rudder! Up five degrees!
HELMSMAN
Answering left rudder, up five
degrees!
The crew sways as the sub makes the sharp maneuver.
26.
The powerful light source from the alien ship and the
torpedoes from the Jimmy Carter collide and explode in an
incredible fireball, setting off massive shock waves.

Throughout the sub lights go dim, men and supplies are
tossed about; small amounts of seawater bursts through pipes
and electrical systems pop and fizzle.

Warning SIRENS blare. Matt and the command crew struggle to
stay on their feet as the sub is buffeted violently.
MATT
Damage control, report!
Lots of people talk at once into microphones and to each
other. The X.O. takes it in then turns to Matt.
X.O.
Flooding in the port torpedo room.
Switching to auxiliary power on
decks two and three. Life support
normal. Hydraulics normal. Reactor
normal.
MATT
(to sonarman)
Get me a bearing on that son of a
bitch.
The sonarman works his magic, furiously typing and turning
knobs on his workstation.
MATT
(to X.O.)
Spin up ten and twelve with Deltas.
The X.O.’s look tells us that Deltas are nuclear torpedoes.
X.O.
Yes, sir! Load tubes ten and
twelve with Deltas.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 27.
The fire control officer repeats the command in his headset

and punches a code on his workstation. As he does, Matt
uses a KEY around his neck to unlock a small safe above the
Captain’s console. He pulls out two RED ENVELOPES, hands
one to the X.O., rips his own open and pulls out a CARD.
SONARMAN
Enemy bearing two-two-seven. Range
ten thousand yards, sir.
FIRE CONTROL OFFICER
(to X.O., reading screen)
Alpha-alpha nine-oh-seven-charlie.
X.O.
(reads his card to Matt)
Alpha-alpha nine-oh-seven-charlie.
Captain, do you concur?
Matt looks up from his card, a grim but determined
expression on his face.
MATT
I concur. Open tubes ten and
twelve.
X.O.
Open tubes ten and twelve, aye.
SONARMAN
Bogey bearing two-two-oh and
accelerating, sir. Range eight
thousand yards and closing.
MATT
Port five degrees. All ahead full.
HELMSMAN
Aye-aye, sir. Port five degrees.
Answering all ahead full.
SONARMAN
Bearing two-two-oh, range six
thousand.
X.O.
Mark!
MATT
Fire tubes ten and twelve.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 28.
X.O.
Fire!
FIRE CONTROL OFFICER
(pushing buttons)
Ten and twelve away!
MATT
Left full rudder, up ten degrees!

Torpedoes shoot out of the sub. We follow them through the
depths as they hunt for their target.

The command crew waits, their faces sweating in the red
glow.
SONARMAN
Running straight, hot and
true. Two thousand yards to
contact.
EXT. ALIEN VESSEL

Another near-blinding light "torpedo" shoots from the vessel
and whooshes past us.

The alien torpedo slams into the Jimmy Carter and seems to
electrocute it.
INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, VARIOUS

Pure chaos. Torrents of seawater blasts in on passageways.
Crewmen struggle to save the sub.

The room looks like it’s been hit by a mortar. Workstations
spark and flash. Crew members are sprawled against consoles
and on the floor. The electronic positioning chart has
shattered.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 29.
Matt struggles to his feet, helped by the navigator. The

X.O. is out cold on the floor. A seaman kneeling next to
him looks up at Matt and gravely nods his head.
MATT
Helm, all stop!
NAVIGATOR
Sir, we’ve lost all hydraulics. The
maneuvering room is taking water
fast... Rear tanks ruptured...
HELMSMAN
Passing twenty-five hundred
feet. We can’t hold her, sir.
The Delta torpedoes pursue their target. The alien sub
turns nimbly and evades one of them. But the second Delta
has locked on and chases the alien relentlessly into the
murky depths. We lose sight of both in the blackness,
then... KA-BOOM! A nuclear explosion as the Delta catches
its prey.

The sonarman is staring at his screen, muttering to himself
something that sounds like "come on." Then his eyes widen.
SONARMAN
BULLS-EYE! We got him! We got --
The aftershock of the nuclear blast violently rocks the
command crew. Matt gets to his feet and gets his
bearings. Blood streams from his forehead.
MATT
All back! Full reverse!
HELMSMAN
Answering full reverse!
MATT
Blow main tanks! BLOW EVERYTHING!
NAVIGATOR
Blowing all tanks, sir!
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 30.
HELMSMAN
Twenty-six-hundred feet!
NAVIGATOR
Fires amidships and aft, heavy
flooding on all decks!

The crew fights in vain against seawater and fires.

Matt glances around, knows his ship is dead and his men with
her. We read his resignation but also his pride in his
crew, who continue to do their jobs valiantly. Matt finds
the CHIEF OF THE BOAT (40s), a squat, rock solid black man.
MATT
Chief of the boat!
CHIEF OF THE BOAT
Aye, Captain!
MATT
(beat)
Launch the buoy!
The Chief of the boat and Matt look at each other. We sense
that there is great respect, even affection, between them.
CHIEF OF THE BOAT
Aye-aye, sir!
The chief lifts a small glass door on a console and punches
a button. A bright red light comes on.
EXT. USS JIMMY CARTER, THE SAIL

The buoy, a small transmitter, is ejected from the top of
the sub. From a POV above we watch as the buoy speeds
upward and, in the b.g., the Jimmy Carter continues its
descent toward the ocean floor. On the side of the sail we
can make out the hull classification symbol, "SSN-23".
31.

Seawater explodes throughout the sub. Men die horribly.
INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, CAPTAIN’S QUARTERS

Water floods in. We HOLD on the snapshot of Matt and Zach
with the swordfish until there is nothing left to see.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY - DAY

A military funeral service attended by dozens of mourners,
military and civilian.
CLOSE ON Maggie, trying to be brave. WIDEN and we see she’s
sitting between Maddy and Sandy, who look on enduringly as
an HONOR GUARD removes the flag from Matt’s coffin and folds
it ceremonially.
A NAVY OFFICER presents the flag to Maddy.
NAVY OFFICER
As a representative of the United
States Navy, it is my high
privilege to present you this
flag. Let it be a symbol of the
grateful appreciation this nation
feels for the distinguished service
rendered to our country by your
loved one.
Maddy accepts the flag. A RIFLE PARTY fires a three-volley
salute. Maddy flinches and Zach puts his arm around her
shoulder to steady her.
EXT. CEMETERY WALKWAY - LATER

Maddy, Maggie, Sandy and Zach are walking toward a line of
waiting sedans. With them is ADMIRAL KELLY (58), black,
imposing, distinguished. As they approach, a vaguely
familiar woman in the uniform of a Chief Warrant Officer
comes forward: this is Tess Cortez (26), Cuban-American,
beautiful, if a bit tough-looking in a military way. We
recognize her as the Chief from the oil rig rescue.
The Ramsays stop. After saluting the Admiral, the Chief
reaches out to Maddy. They hold hands.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 32.
CHIEF
Mrs. Ramsay, I’m so very sorry for
your loss. Commander Ramsay was
admired and respected by all of us.
MADDY
Thank you, Chief. And thank you so
much for coming.
Sandy and the Chief share a long embrace. They kiss cheek
to cheek and Sandy looks into her eyes.
SANDY
Tess, dear. You’ll come to the
house later, won’t you?
CHIEF
Yes, of course, Mrs. Ramsay.
Sandy shifts her gaze to Zach.
ZACH
Mom, Maddy, I’ll just be a minute.
The Ramsay women, Maggie and Admiral Kelly move along. Zach
looks at the Chief. They try to keep their emotions in
check.
ZACH
Thank you for coming, Chief. It
means a lot to Maddy and Mom... And
to me.
CHIEF
It means a lot to me too, Skipper.
Your brother was a hell of an
officer. One of the best in the
Navy. Like your dad.
(beat)
How are you holding up, sir?
ZACH
(sighs, beat)
We all know it’s possible, hell,
damn likely the way the world turns
these days. But I always figured
it’d be me, not Matt. Not Matt...
She reaches out, touches his sleeve in a gesture of
sympathy... and guarded affection.
33.
EXT. THE WHITE HOUSE - DAY

Establishing, over which we hear voices in heated debate...
INT. THE WHITE HOUSE, BRIEFING ROOM - DAY

We join a tense meeting that includes the heads of the
C.I.A., N.S.A., F.B.I., N.A.S.A., etc., and the JOINT CHIEFS
OF STAFF, including Admiral Kelly. PRESIDENT RENEE PHELPS
(50), self-assured and attractive, listens stoically as her
National Security Adviser CECIL BAKER gets to the heart of
the matter.
BAKER
What I’m saying is that the Jimmy
Carter was attacked by an alien
spacecraft.
ADMIRAL KELLY
(testily)
One that you’ve known about for
decades! The same one that sank
the Dallas almost twenty-five years
ago!
BAKER
Yes, Admiral. We believe so.
GENERAL BROWNING
JUDAS F. PRIEST! And nobody in the
administration thought to share
this tidbit of information with the
military?!
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General OWEN BROWNING (53), a
pit bull of a man, slams his fist onto the table.
BAKER
General, I appreciate your
disappointment in not being kept in
the loop, but --
GENERAL BROWNING
(fuming)
I seriously doubt you’re anywhere
close to appreciating my
disappointment, Mr. Baker!
BAKER
Be that as it may, General,
occasionally there is information
deemed so sensitive that even the
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 34.
BAKER (CONT’D.)
military isn’t briefed until
absolutely necessary.
GENERAL BROWNING
Absolutely necessary being after
two $4 billion nuclear subs and 260
men end up on the bottom of the
ocean?!
PRESIDENT PHELPS
Gentlemen, please.
Browning and Baker remember where they are and calm down.
PRESIDENT PHELPS
As tragic as the losses of the
Dallas and the Carter were, those
of us who have served know the
price for defending our national
interests can be high. Exorbitant.
However, the issue we face today is
more daunting than the loss of
nuclear submarines and their crews,
or even the news that we are not
alone in the universe. The issue
we face today is how to ensure the
survival of a species - our own. I
think it’s time we turned our
energy to that... Dr. Pettigrew,
if you please.
VANESSA PETTIGREW (35) stands and walks to the front of the
room. She’s British, black and stunningly beautiful. Once
we get past her looks, the quality that strikes us most is
her innate brilliance.
VANESSA
Thank you, Madame President.
She nods to an assistant in the back of room. Lights dim.
VANESSA
My name is Dr. Vanessa Pettigrew,
special assistant to the Prime
Minister on Science, Technology and
Space Exploration. What you’re
about to hear and see will seem
fantastical, but I assure you,
ladies and gentlemen, it’s all
true.
A slide presentation begins on a WALL SCREEN behind her.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 35.
VANESSA (O.S.)
In 1955, two years before the
Soviets launched Sputnik One, a
Russian trawler made a startling
catch in the frozen waters of the
Barents Sea.
ON THE SCREEN: a grainy black and white PHOTO of a
space-suited reptilian humanoid sprawled on the deck of a
trawler. Two Russian fishermen kneeling next to the dead
alien make it clear the creature is easily eight feet tall.
Whispers circle the room like wildfire.
VANESSA (O.S.)
Needless to say, the Space Race
took on an even greater sense of
urgency.
F.B.I. DIRECTOR
Forgive me, Doctor, but I find it
hard to believe such a discovery,
if authentic, could be kept quiet
for long, even in the super
secretive Soviet Union of the
fifties.
VANESSA
Director Bixby, the trawler that
made this "catch" was "lost at sea"
the next day with all hands. And
of course the sinking of the Dallas
and the Carter were not the result
of "training accidents." The
Russians aren’t the only ones who
will go to extremes to keep
secrets.
(she pauses for effect)
Your government learned of the
aliens when C.I.A. operatives came
across these photos whilst
gathering information on the Soviet
space program. Our government was
informed several years later when
MI-6 intercepted your communiques.
Autopsy photos of the dead alien appear on screen. Then a
transition to images of the U.S. and Soviet space programs.
VANESSA (O.S.)
As the U.S. and Soviets sent more
hardware into orbit, there was
sporadic contact with the aliens -
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (4) 36.
VANESSA (O.S.) (CONT’D.)

celestial aberrations, confirmed
UFO sightings, things of that
nature... But in 1960 there was
direct communication with them.
VIDEO FOOTAGE of government suits trying to decipher strange
GUTTURAL SOUNDS from outer space.
C.I.A. DIRECTOR
You mean they actually spoke to
us?
VANESSA
Yes, they did. It was then that
the U.S. looked to my government
for assistance. Our advances in
code-breaking and linguistics
recognition combined with your
space technology sped our progress
in decoding the alien language
exponentially. It took nearly ten
years but we eventually determined
that our visitors are from Titan.
N.A.S.A. DIRECTOR
The Saturn moon?
VANESSA
Yes, Director Dennison. Titanians.
Vanessa motions and the presentation transitions to various
images of Saturn and Titan, the orange-tinted moon.
VANESSA (O.S.)
Titan is the largest of Saturn’s
moons - bigger than Mercury - the
only moon in the Solar System with
an atmosphere and the only place
other than Earth with stable bodies
of surface liquids.
N.A.S.A. DIRECTOR (O.S.)
But Titan’s a frozen wasteland.
Surface temperatures are two
hundred ninety degrees below zero.
BAKER (O.S.)
Which explains why the aliens have
been so busy working to kick start
another Ice Age here on Earth.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (5) 37.
N.S.A. DIRECTOR
(incredulous)
Say what?!
PRESIDENT PHELPS
Ladies and gentlemen, we have
incontrovertible evidence that the
Titanians are well along in a plan
to cause the next Ice Age on Earth,
wiping out the human race so that
they can colonize the planet.
There is an audible hush in the already subdued room.
ADMIRAL KELLY
Forgive me, Madame President, but
after learning that not one, but
three governments have kept the
existence of an intelligent alien
species a secret for the past
eighty years, I’m afraid I’ll have
to ask what, exactly, constitutes
"incontrovertible evidence?"
President Phelps looks to Vanessa.
VANESSA
While Director Dennison’s
assessment of the climate on Titan
is correct based on the
Cassini-Huygens mission to Titan
thirty years ago, in the last ten
years we’ve intercepted
communications by Titanian
explorers in which they speak of
rapidly deteriorating conditions on
their world. Titan is warming up
fast and the Titanians need a new
home. They’ve chosen Earth.
They all look at one another as Vanessa’s words sink.
BAKER
Titanians have entrenched
themselves deep in our oceans,
where they’ve used advanced
technology to speed global warming
over the past forty years. As you
know, global warming could cause
catastrophic climate change,
leading to another Ice Age. They’re
on track to cause such a phenomenon
within a hundred years.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (6) 38.
GENERAL BROWNING
Wait a minute. If these
"Titanians" are smart enough to
travel to Earth and have the
technology to spur drastic climate
change, why not just invade and
wipe us out?
BAKER
Earth’s too warm for them,
General. They’d melt in our
atmosphere.
VANESSA
"Melt" may be a bit of an
exaggeration. But essentially, Mr.
Baker is correct. Outside of the
Poles and the extreme depths of our
oceans, the Titanians couldn’t
tolerate Earth’s temperate
climates. Their plan is to freeze
us out before they come.
F.B.I. DIRECTOR
The Jimmy Carter nuked one of their
ships in the Pacific. Why not
focus all of our fleets on hunting
down the rest and taking them out?
ADMIRAL KELLY
We know more about what’s in deep
space than we do about what’s in
our deepest oceans. Even with our
technology it could take decades to
find them down there.
C.I.A. DIRECTOR
And even if we could find them,
we’d be doing their work for them
if we nuked the seas.
President Phelps, Baker and Vanessa all exchange a look.
PRESIDENT PHELPS
Ladies and gentlemen, I have
carefully considered what’s at
stake here - the very survival of
the human race. It’s clear to me
that we have only one choice: we
must launch a preemptive strike on
Titan and destroy their home world
before they can bring about the
destruction of our own.
39.
EXT. MOSCOW - DAY

Establishing, over which we hear a a reporter’s voice.
CNN ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
President Phelps and Russian Prime
Minister Vladmir Perminov met today
to discuss the growing global
energy crisis...
NEWS FOOTAGE of President Phelps and the Russian leader
shaking hands and posing for pictures at the Kremlin...
INT. KREMLIN - DAY

VLADMIR PERMINOV (55), dour and taciturn, answers a
reporter’s question in heavily accented English.
PERMINOV
Our resolve against terrorists is
unshaken. And our determination to
protect the world’s energy
resources knows no limits.
REPORTER (O.S.)
Greenpeace just published a report
claiming the world’s oil reserves
are at their lowest point in eighty
years. As two of the world’s
largest energy users, along with
China, have you considered stronger
conservation measures?
PRESIDENT PHELPS
I can assure you that the world’s
oil reserves are more than
sufficient. Unfortunately, our
friends at Greenpeace have fallen
prey to the propaganda of
terrorists who would use
misinformation and murder to force
their agenda onto the world stage.
INT. PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE - SUNSET

Prime Minister Perminov and President Phelps sit across from
each other on sofas. An aide pours each of them an aperitif
then exits. President Phelps takes a sip and reacts.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 40.
PRESIDENT PHELPS
Very good, Vladmir. Strong, but
very good.
PERMINOV
It is as it must be, Renee. As we
must be. Yes?
PRESIDENT PHELPS
Da.
EXT. RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY - DAY

To establish.
INT. RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY, BRIEFING ROOM - DAY

Colonel ALEXI SILAYEV (35), Spetsnaz GRU (Russian Special
Forces), piercing blue eyes, scar on his left cheek, stands
at the front of a darkened room. A large lighted map of
Titan’s surface is behind him. His English is perfect, with
only the slightest hint of an accent.
SILAYEV
After we’ve secured base positions,
two strike teams will launch two
U.S. Peacekeeper MIRVs - or
multiple independently targetable
reentry vehicles. Each Peacekeeper
carries ten, three hundred kiloton
nuclear warheads - twenty times the
power of the bomb dropped on
Hiroshima. At only forty percent
the size of Earth, Titan will be
uninhabitable within days of
detonation. Our delivery spacecraft
will orbit Titan for two days to
destroy any Titanian ships
attempting escape from the surface.
MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Why do you have to land? Why not
simply drop the nukes from orbit?
ED VILLAGRA (30), Whiz Kid American astrophysicist, answers.
VILLAGRA
Titan’s atmosphere is so thick that
most meteors burn up before they
hit the surface. The only way to
be sure our nukes do the job is to
launch them from the ground.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 41.
BRIGADIER COLLEEN SMYTHE (45), a Brit, flips through her

briefing book. She’s puzzled.
BRIGADIER SMYTHE
Colonel, I don’t see a plan for
extraction of your ground force.
SILAYEV
Extraction will not be possible,
Brigadier.
GENERAL CHEN
(accented English)
Colonel, are we to understand that
you propose sending our most elite
troops on a suicide mission?
Silayev locks eyes with the Chinese general.
SILAYEV
I propose "leading" them on that
mission, General.
The lights come up and we see there are a DOZEN PEOPLE of
different nationalities in the room, civilian and
military. Cecil Baker is among them.
BAKER
We’re all professionals here,
accustomed to making life and death
decisions. The hard fact is, fifty
souls is a pittance to pay to
ensure the survival of the human
race.
The people in the room exchange looks; they know Baker is
right. The RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER speaks up.
RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER
You’ve identified "volunteers" from
the Coalition’s Special Forces
units for this mission, Colonel?
SILAYEV
Yes, I have.
INT. SHOOTERS BAR - NIGHT

A raucous place where off duty military men and women go to
blow off steam and hook up with the locals.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 42.
CARLY (25), a cool, sexy redhead, crosses the crowded bar

carrying pitchers of beer and a bottle of Tequila on a
tray. She comes to a table where Zach and six rowdy
military types are already tossing back cold ones and having
a great time. These are members of the SEAL TEAM who
rescued the oil rig workers: gum-chewing FRANK BOGGS (22);
petite KEIKO MATSUI (25); bald, muscular KAREEM HONEYCUTT
(27); BRANDON SORKIN (24), PHIL BLISS (25) and CURT LOUDEN
(23).
Carly puts the tray on the table.
CARLY
You guys aren’t wasting any time
tonight are you?
ZACH
Do we ever?
Zach and Carly exchange smiles; they’re digging each other.
CARLY
So who’s birthday is it?
BOGGS
(chewing gum)
The Skipper got his gold oak leafs.
CARLY
Congrats, Lieutenant Commander!
Zach lifts his shot glass, gestures around the table.
ZACH
I owe it all to the little people
beneath me!
The SEALs react, giving their leader shit.
HONEYCUTT
Now that you’re moving up in the
world - and getting old - it’s just
a matter of time before they give
you a desk and cram a keyboard up
your ass... Sir.
ZACH
What the hell are you talking
about, "old"? You’re about the
same age as me, Honeycutt.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 43.
HONEYCUTT
"About" ain’t the same thing as
being, sir.
CARLY
Say, where’s the Chief? Shouldn’t
she be celebrating with you?
EXT. SHELL STATION - NIGHT

The Chief is gassing up her classic INDIAN MOTORCYCLE,
looking pretty hot in low riders and a short leather
jacket. A GUY gassing up a sports car at the next pump
checks her and the bike out. Mostly her.
GUY
Sweet chassis.
The Chief nods a cool "Thanks", pulls the pump out of the
gas tank and replaces it.
GUY
How’s the ride?
She climbs on and fires up the throaty engine, looks at him,
knows it’s not the bike he’s asking about.
CHIEF
Better than you could ever imagine.
GUY
(smiles)
That’s a lot of power between your
legs. Sure you can handle it?
CHIEF
(coquettish smile)
What do you think?
She REVS it for show and pulls off. The guy bites his lip
as he watches her go. Behind him, a long line of cars waits
to come into the gas station.
INT. SHOOTERS BAR - NIGHT

Zach runs into Carly on his way out of the Men’s room.
CARLY
Any plans for celebrating tonight
besides getting wasted?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 44.
ZACH
I try not to think too far
ahead. But I’m open to
suggestions.
He flashes the smile. She gives him a scolding look.
CARLY
You never called, Sailor! Just
blew out of my bed like a bat out
of hell! And now you’re looking at
me with those eyes and that smile.
ZACH
Sorry, Carly, but you know how it
is. When duty calls...
CARLY
Yeah, "Duty." Is that the name of
the blond I saw you with two weeks
later?
He pulls her to him. She pouts prettily.
ZACH
What can I do to make it up to
you? Just name it.
She’s played angry long enough.
CARLY
Make me breakfast tomorrow.
ZACH
(smiles)
How do you like your eggs?
The Chief enters the bar and makes her way through the
crowd. Zach sees her as he’s parting with Carly.
ZACH
(calling out)
Chief! Hey, Chief!
CHIEF
Skipper. Sorry I’m late.
ZACH
We’re over here.
They go to the table together.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 45.
KEIKO
What happened, Chief? Hook up with
a clinger? I swear, there’s
nothing worse than a guy who won’t
take a hint and go home after he’s
shot his last round.
CHIEF
Tell me about it. But this time it
was gas lines.
LOUDEN
You wouldn’t have that problem if
you went electric, Chief.
CHIEF
I’ve got better uses for my
batteries, Louden.
Keiko and the Chief exchange a look. Just then, Zach
catches sight of Carly near the exit, smiling at him.
ZACH
Well, I’d love to stick around and
drink all night - especially since
you mooks are buying - but I’ve got
places to go and things to do.
SORKIN
Don’t you mean redheads to do,
Skip?
The Chief catches a glimpse of Carly smiling at Zach.
CHIEF
It’s not like you to hit the same
target twice, Skipper.
ZACH
Whatever it takes to achieve
mission success, Chief. Later...
Zach heads off through the crowd. Honeycutt pours the Chief
a beer and drops a shot glass of Tequila into it.
HONEYCUTT
Here ya go, Chief. Lots of catching
up to do.
The Chief downs her boilermaker.
46.
INT. ZACH’S APARTMENT - LATER

Zach and Carly burst into the apartment, going at it hot and
heavy, tearing their own and each other’s clothes off;
INTERCUT: SHOOTERS BAR/ZACH’S APARTMENT
The Tequila boilermakers continue to flow as the SEALs keep
the party going without the guest of honor. A HUNK checks
the Chief out and she eye fucks him from across the crowded
bar.
Zach and Carly have hot sex all over his apartment;
Boggs, Sorkin and Louden hit the dance floor with sexy local
girls;
Honeycutt and Keiko slip out of the bar, holding hands;
The Chief and the hunk find a spot to get amorous;
Zach and Carly collapse on the bed, absolutely spent.
INT. ZACH’S APARTMENT - DAY

A loud BANGING on the door. Zach, seriously hung over,
crosses the apartment in his boxer shorts.
ZACH
Hold on! Jesus!
He flings the door open. The Chief is there in khaki
uniform.
CHIEF
’Morning, sir.
ZACH
Hey, Chief. Where’s the fire?
CHIEF
We’ve been called in.
ZACH
What?! Nobody called me!
The Chief steps inside.
CHIEF
About that. Captain’s been trying
to reach you for an hour. I
figured I better come over and get
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 47.
CHIEF (CONT’D.)
you myself before he sent out the
Shore Patrol.
Zach goes to the coffee table, picks up his cell
phone. Power’s off. Carly comes out of the bedroom in
Zach’s shirt.
CARLY
(smiles)
Hi, Chief.
CHIEF
Carly.
As Carly crosses to Zach, she and the Chief exchange a
look. Feminine instinct tells them they’re rivals.
CARLY
(kisses Zach)
’Morning, Tiger.
ZACH
Did you turn off my phone?
CARLY
(innocent)
I don’t know. Maybe?
ZACH
Carly, you never, ever turn off my
phone!
CARLY
Sorry...
Zach makes a bee line to the bathroom.
ZACH
Ready in five, Chief!
CHIEF
Aye-aye, Skipper.
The bathroom door slams. Beat. The Chief and Carly look at
each other.
CARLY
Duty?
CHIEF
(nods "Yes")
I’ll just wait outside.
48.
INT. MUSTANG COBRA - MOVING - DAY

Zach weaves through traffic like a NASCAR driver. The Chief
is unfazed by the near accidents.
ZACH
I know it’s South America this
time. Damn! Why’s it always got
to be a place that’s crawling with
snakes?! I hate snakes!
The Chief’s expression says, "Big baby."
CHIEF
A bill says it’s the Middle East.
ZACH
You know me, Chief. I only bet on
sure things.
CHIEF
Like redheads with big tits and
tiny I.Q.s?
He turns to her and grins.
ZACH
Exactly.
INT. CAPTAIN ORTON’S OFFICE - DAY

CAPTAIN ORTON (40), hard, lean, a Navy SEAL most of his
career, sits reading a file. A KNOCK on the door.
CAPTAIN ORTON
Enter.
Zach comes in, stands at attention and salutes. Family and
Naval Academy training have taught him there is no excuse
for being late and that "sorry" doesn’t cut it.
ZACH
Captain.
CAPTAIN ORTON
(returns salute)
Glad you could make it, Commander.
Captain Orton closes the file and looks gravely at
Zach. WIDEN ANGLE and we see Silayev standing off to the
side.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 49.
CAPTAIN ORTON
Zach, this is Colonel Alexi
Silayev, Russian Army Special
Forces, Spetsnaz GRU.
ZACH
Colonel.
COLONEL SILAYEV
Commander Ramsay.
Zach and Silayev shake hands.
CAPTAIN ORTON
Zach, Colonel Silayev has a
proposal for you and your team.
EXT. PENTAGON - DAY

Establishing, over which we hear a file SLAP onto a desk.
INT. ADMIRAL KELLY’S OFFICE - DAY

Admiral Kelly is irate. COMMANDER CAINE takes his ire.
COMMANDER CAINE
But, Admiral, I don’t understand.
Admiral Kelly picks the file up from his desk, shoves it at
Caine.
ADMIRAL KELLY
Did you really expect me to
authorize this?!
(off Caine’s puzzlement)
Well, look at it, Commander!
Caine opens the file. Reads it. Again.
INSERT - FILE
"LCDR - 0-4 - Zachary T. Ramsay" is at the top of the list,
followed immediately by other members of his SEAL team.
RETURN TO SCENE
COMMANDER CAINE
Sir, your orders were to provide a
list of our best special ops units
to Colonel Silayev. We followed
those orders to the letter,
Admiral.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 50.
ADMIRAL KELLY
(regains composure)
Zach Ramsay’s brother, Matt, was
the skipper of the Jimmy Carter.
COMMANDER CAINE
Yes, sir. I know, sir.
ADMIRAL KELLY
Their father, Matt senior, was the
skipper of the Dallas, sunk in the
Barents Sea twenty five years
ago. We were roommates at the
Academy... Matt junior’s first tour
at sea was under my command...
Sandy Ramsay was with my Elizabeth
when she died of breast cancer. I
was on patrol in the Atlantic and
couldn’t get home in time to be
with her.
COMMANDER CAINE
I’m sorry, Admiral, I didn’t know.
ADMIRAL KELLY
I won’t be responsible for taking
the last Ramsay man from that
family. Scratch Zach Ramsay from
the mission.
COMMANDER CAINE
(beat)
Admiral, it’s a volunteer
mission. Commander Ramsay has
already volunteered, sir.
OFF Admiral Kelly...
EXT. ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY - DAY

ANGLE ON Zach’s face, staring down at the gravestone of his
father, communing with the spirit of a man he barely knew.
INT. DOCTOR’S OFFICE - DAY

Vanessa sits across a desk from a female DOCTOR (30s) who’s
expression is sympathetic.
DOCTOR
(English accent)
There are new experimental
therapies that are in human
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 51.
DOCTOR (CONT’D.)
clinical trials. They’re fairly
aggressive, but I recommend we
consider them.
Vanessa stares at her with a poised, neutral expression.
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY

Vanessa walks down the corridor, making her way forward by
will alone. She stops at an elevator, presses the button
and waits. When the doors open, she steps inside.
INT. ELEVATOR
Two NURSES talk casually behind Vanessa. The elevator stops
and they get off, leaving her alone. The doors close,
Vanessa leans against the elevator wall and breaks down in
tears.
EXT. LONDON, VARIOUS SHOTS - DAY

To establish.
EXT./INT. 10 DOWNING STREET - DAY

Vanessa approaches the familiar door of 10 Downing Street.
She’s dressed in a smart, sexy business suit. A uniformed
POLICE OFFICER nods a welcome. Vanessa smiles "Hello." The
door opens.
Inside, Vanessa is greeted with familiarity by an AIDE who
ushers her in to see PRIME MINISTER HUTCHINS (53), bright
and charismatic.
PRIME MINISTER HUTCHINS
’Nessa, how pleasant to see you!
They embrace.
VANESSA
Prime Minister. Thank you for
making time for me on such short
notice.
What sensible man would turn down
an audience with a beautiful woman?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 52.
VANESSA
(smiles)
You see Pat every day. That should
tide you over, sir.
Haven’t you read the papers? My
wife’s too busy running the country
to spend time with an old stick in
the mud like me.
They share a laugh. The Prime Minister signals for the aide
to leave them and they sit across from each other on sofas.
So, you wouldn’t ask for an urgent
meeting without good reason. Are
there new developments with the
Titanians?
VANESSA
Not exactly, sir. But it does have
to do with them. I have a theory.
Those four words from your mouth
always hold great promise... And
usually cost a great deal of money.
VANESSA
It’s a long shot, but if I’m right
there is a great deal of promise.
And the best thing - at least for
your poll numbers - there’s no
money involved.
(off his intrigue)
But it does entail you doing me an
enormous favor, Jerry.
EXT. OVER ANTARCTICA - TWILIGHT

We have a sense of vastness above and below. Suddenly, a
C-130 Hercules THUNDERS into view, then a second.
INT. C-130 - IN FLIGHT - TWILIGHT

ANGLE ON Vanessa’s face. She’s looking out the window into
the icy darkness. PULL BACK and we see she’s strapped into
her seat, next to a sleeping BRITISH SOLDIER.
On the flight deck the PILOT and CO-PILOT go through their
pre-landing checklist.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 53.
PILOT
Ragnar Base this is Hawkeye, on
final approach for landing.
RAGNAR BASE (V.O.)
Hawkeye, Ragnar Base. Take Angels
right, two-three-zero. Your vector
two-two-four, clear for landing.
PILOT
Roger, Ragnar Base. Flaps.
CO-PILOT
(lowers flaps)
Flaps.
Strapped in his seat below the flight deck, Ed Villagra, the
American astrophysicist, feels the plane dip, looks out a
window and frowns.
VILLAGRA
(apprehensive)
We’re landing?
ZHANG (O.S.)
It would appear so.
Villagra looks at the attractive Chinese woman strapped in
next to him. She is DR. ZHANG CHEUNG (30).
VILLAGRA
But where? I don’t see the
field. I don’t see anything.
ZHANG
We have long suspected the
Americans had a secret, underground
base on Antarctica. Now it seems
we know for sure.
He follows her eyes to CHINESE SOLDIERS peering out windows.
On the flight deck, the pilot and co-pilot view the world
below through heads up displays (HUD) in their helmets.
WHAT THEY SEE: A military airfield clearly visible in Night
Vision green.
54.
EXT. HIDDEN AIRFIELD - TWILIGHT

The C-130s land and taxi.
EXT. RAGNAR BASE - TWILIGHT

The two C-130s sit with propellers running. Their huge rear
doors lower and 50 of the world’s best Special Ops troops
come out in SLO-MO: 46 men and four no-nonsense women.
SUPERIMPOSE: RAGNAR BASE, ANTARCTICA
Silayev steps off a C-130 and takes a look around, his eyes
cutting through the twilight like ice blue lasers.
Zach and his SEAL team step off the other transport. Though
it’s twilight, Zach wears sunglasses.
BLISS
Shit, Skipper. It’s colder than a
witch’s tit down here.
HONEYCUTT
Enjoy it while it lasts. Compared
to Titan this is the damn Sahara.
BOGGS
(chewing gum)
Your tits really this cold, Chief?
CHIEF
Keep your trap shut, Boggs, or that
gum’ll freeze and choke you.
BOGGS
(chewing gum)
You wish.
Villagra and Zhang follow troops to an ice hill that is
actually the entrance to the underground base camouflaged by
high-tech wizardry.
Finally, Vanessa steps off a transport, takes in the scene
and breathes in deeply. Then she follows the others.
INT. RAGNAR BASE, BRIEFING ROOM

U.S. Navy SEALs and Green Berets, Russian Spetsnaz GRU,
Chinese PLA Special Ops and British SAS sit quietly waiting.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 55.
SOLDIER’S VOICE (O.S.)

Atten-HUT!
The troops rise as one when Silayev walks in. Zach comes in
too, stands next to him at the front of the room.
SILAYEV
Welcome to Ragnar. I hope you all
slept well last night. There won’t
be anymore time for rest now that
we’ve arrived. Over the next month
we will train in Antartica’s
harshest conditions, and in the
simulated conditions of Titan, to
acclimate ourselves for
accomplishing our mission on the
ice moon. We will also become
experts in the most advanced
warfighting technology ever
created... Lieutenant Commander
Ramsay of the U.S. Navy SEALs will
serve as second in command.
(Zach nods)
Each of you is a valiant warrior
who has dedicated your life to
protecting your country. Now you
have committed to making the
ultimate sacrifice to save our
world. I salute you for accepting
this mission... Commander Ramsay.
ZACH
(stepping forward)
Starting this morning, we’ll train
as we will deploy on Titan, in two
teams - Alpha and Omega. Colonel
Silayev will lead Alpha, I will
lead Omega...
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. PACK ICE - TWILIGHT

Icy wasteland. Winds HOWL, snow SWIRLS. No sign of life.
ZACH (V.O.)
Chief, Romanov, report.
The Chief is crouched behind a snow drift. She peers over
at an abandoned whaling station - ancient buildings frozen
by decades of ice and snow.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 56.
CHIEF
Clear on the left, Skipper.
ANTON ROMANOV (26) is on his stomach, surrounded by flat,
rugged terrain. He’s looking at the whaling station from
the right side.
ROMANOV
(thick Russian accent)
Clear on right, Commander. Ready
to move in on your command.
ZACH (V.O.)
Red and Blue squads, move to beta
position on my mark... Mark.
VIEW THROUGH HIGH-TECH BINOCULARS
It’s twilight but the binoculars make it midday. Eight
camouflaged soldiers run toward the whaling station from
front and rear. They stop and take cover by lying flat.
SOLDIER 1 (V.O.)
Strike One in position.
SOLDIER 2 (V.O.)
Strike Two in position.
RETURN TO SCENE
Zach is flat on the ground looking through the
binoculars. A handful of soldiers lay hidden near him, guns
ready. All are equipped with special ops com-links.
ZACH
I don’t like it. It’s too easy.
Chief, you sure nothing’s there?
CHIEF (V.O.)
Sure enough, Skipper. No one’s
been in that place since God was a
boy.
ZACH
Romanov, what about your side? Is
it clear to move?
ROMANOV (V.O.)
Roger, Omega leader. Moving in.
Romanov gets up and begins moving in on the whaling
station.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 57.
ZACH
looks through his binoculars. He reacts, pissed off.
ZACH
No! Ramonov, get back in position!
Too late. "Enemy" soldiers hidden under the snow all around
Romanov’s position pop up and "fire" on the Strike squads,
"killing" them, and Romanov, with harmless blue light
beams. At the same time, enemy soldiers attack Zach’s
position from behind, wiping out Omega. Only the Chief
survives on the left flank.
After the shooting stops, a figure walks up to Zach, who
looks up at his vanquisher. Silayev pushes his hood back,
lifts his snow goggles. We see those piercing blue eyes.
SILAYEV
It will be difficult to accomplish
our mission with only half our
force, Commander.
EXT. WHALING STATION - LATER

Zach and his troops are regrouping after the disasterous
ambush. He approaches Romanov and grabs him by the parka.
ZACH
(furious)
You stupid, deaf son of a bitch!
You just got half our force wiped
out! All dead because of you!
ROMANOV
I’m sorry, Commander --
ZACH
(furious)
Sorry! Sorry won’t cut it up there
with those slimy bastards! You get
your head out of your ass and
snapped on on straight, trooper,
’cause if you screw up on this
mission I swear to God I’ll end you
myself! Do you read me?!
ROMANOV
Loud and clear, sir!
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 58.
The Chief, Honeycutt and Sorkin look on, taken aback by

Zach’s reaming out of the Russian.
ZACH
Chief! Move ’em out!
CHIEF
Aye-aye, Skipper.
(to troops)
Alright, ladies. Let’s move.
INT. RAGNAR BASE, CORRIDOR

Silayev and Zach, in cool winter camouflage uniforms, walk
down the corridor. Zach still fumes from the Romanov snafu.
SILAYEV
Forget about the ambush. We’ve made
good progress. The simulator will
be the real test of our readiness.
ZACH
Ready or not, we’re going up.
SILAYEV
Yes, we are... I’m impressed with
your handling of Omega, Commander.
Not many Americans could win the
respect of Russian and Chinese
special forces so quickly.
ZACH
Thanks, Colonel. You’ve done well
with the Brits, and our Green
Berets are tough hombres too.
SILAYEV
Tough is what we need, Commander.
Funny how when the world is really
at stake we bury old differences.
ZACH
(thoughful)
We all have our motivations,
Colonel.
They stop. Silayev looks at Zach, knows he volunteered for
a suicide mission for very personal reasons.
SILAYEV
Good night, Commander.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 59.
ZACH
Colonel.
Silayev turns and goes into his room. Zach continues down
the corridor. He rounds the corner, comes face to face with
Vanessa.
VANESSA
Commander. Good evening.
ZACH
Miss Pettigrew.
VANESSA
Doctor. It’s Doctor Pettigrew.
ZACH
Sorry, Doctor.
VANESSA
Your training is going well?
ZACH
As well as can be expected, I
think. And what about you?
VANESSA
Me?
ZACH
Yes, you. Your training going
well?
VANESSA
Yes... As well as can be expected.
ZACH
And what, exactly, is it you’re
training for, if you don’t mind my
asking, Doctor Pettigrew?
VANESSA
(disarming smile)
What is it you special ops types
say, Commander: "I could tell you
but then I’d have to kill you?"
He’s surprised - and impressed - by her humor. They share a
look that makes them both wonder, "Is there a connection
here?"
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 60.
ZACH
(smiles)
Well, that’d suck.
VANESSA
Right. Well then, goodnight,
Commander Ramsay.
ZACH
Doctor Pettigrew.
Beat. Then an awkward moment as they bump when they try to
pass one another. They part. ON THEIR FACES as they walk
away from each other: a bit of curiosity.
INT. ZACH’S ROOM

Zach is sitting up in his bunk, reading a palm-sized
COMPUTER. On it we see RENDERINGS of Titanian
anatomy. He’s studying the enemy.
A KNOCK on the door.
ZACH
Enter.
The Chief comes in.
CHIEF
Skipper, got a minute?
ZACH
Sure. Come in. Grab a seat.
CHIEF
Thanks, but this shouldn’t take
long.
ZACH
(senses something’s wrong)
What is it?
CHIEF
Skipper, what happened out there
with Romanov, that could’ve
happened to any of us. It has
happened in drills back home.
ZACH
You think I was too hard on him, is
that it?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 61.
CHIEF
I do. Romanov bought a one-way
ticket just like the rest of
us. He doesn’t deserved to be
spoken to like that. This isn’t
boot camp and he’s a seasoned
operator.
Zach gets off the bunk. Stands face to face with her.
ZACH
(vitriol rising)
Tess... those slimy, ice-chewing
lizards killed my father and my
brother. I’ve got one thing left to
do in this life, that’s to send
them and their whole goddamn world
to hell. I won’t let foul ups like
Romanov or anyone else stop me from
completing that mission. You read
me?!
Beat.
CHIEF
I thought our mission was to try
and save the world, Zach. That’s
why I’m here. I’m pretty sure
that’s the only reason Keiko and
the boys signed up too. That and
knowing you would be right there in
front of us.
A long look between them. There’s so much they haven’t said
over the years, so much they can’t say now. She turns and
leaves the room. He just stares at the door.
INT. SILAYEV’S ROOM

Silayev sits at a small desk. He stares at a SNAPSHOT of
his WIFE and DAUGHTER, both of them smiling, pretty. He
puts the photo away and turns out the desk lamp. The room
goes black.
INT. MESS HALL

Zach is having breakfast with Lieutenant LIN SHIHONG (29),
intelligent, good-looking and Omega team’s second in
command, and Flight Lieutenant TONY FITZHUME (27), a
handsome, aristocratic Brit.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 62.
LIN
Colonel Silayev is correct, of
course. The simulator will be our
true test. We all have trained in
harsh environments, but they’ve
been of this world.
Zach is only half-listening. He’s more interested in
Vanessa, who is having breakfast with Villagra and Zhang.
ZACH
What do you know about Dr.
Pettigrew?
LIN
(looks over at her, serious)
Besides that she’s here to spy for
the British and Americans?
FITZHUME
Actually, old chap, I have it on
good authority that she’s a
linguist. Speaks the alien
language. Educated at Oxford,
Cambridge, MIT. A Rhodes Scholar.
LIN
You know her personally?
FITZHUME
We rubbed elbows at a few functions
years ago. I hardly think she
remembers me. She was dating my
cousin at the time.
(off their reaction, "Who?")
The Prince of Wales.
Beat.
ZACH
(thinking)
Why the hell do we need to talk
with them? We’re just going to
nuke the filthy snakes to Kingdom
Come.
FITZHUME
(shrugs)
Beats the bloody hell out of me.
63.
INT. BARRACKS
Keiko is on her cot, sharpening her shruiken stars. She’s
HUMMING a tune, though we can barely hear because it’s so
low. Honeycutt comes in and sits on a cot across from her.
HONEYCUTT
Doubt you’ll have much use for
those on Titan.
KEIKO
I just feel better having them.
Beat. He watches her as she carefully, almost lovingly,
wipes the deadly blades with a cloth. He glances around;
for the moment they’re alone in the barracks.
HONEYCUTT
Listen, Keiko... I know this is
probably not a good time. I mean,
you know, with what we’re doing.
(she looks at him)
But I didn’t want to wait till
we’re deployed. I didn’t want you
to think I was being over-dramatic
because of the situation... Keiko,
I --
KEIKO
(interrupts)
I know, Kareem... So do I.
They share a small, knowing, loving smile. Other troops
come in and Keiko goes back to polishing the killing star.
INT. WEAPONS ROOM

The troops look on as a Russian ARMS EXPERT demonstrates a
futuristic ASSAULT RIFLE.
ARMS EXPERT
Ladies and gentlemen, the X-AK-57
Photon Combat rifle. Gas-operated,
magazine-fed, direct impingement
gas actuation. Fires a thousand
high intensity pulse photon rounds
a minute, with "smart-round"
tracking available by pushing a
button. "X" means experimental.
Only one hundred of these beauties
exist on the planet.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 64.
MICKY YARDLEY (26) and GEOFF ROWE (25), British SAS,

exercise every soldier’s right to bitch.
YARDLEY
(sotto)
Just what we need, another Russian
engineering marvel.
ROWE
(sotto)
Just pray the American nukes work.
When the expert cocks the rifle it powers up with a
cool-sounding surge. He aims at a target thirty yards away.
ARMS EXPERT
This baby will drop a charging
elephant cold at a hundred yards.
The photon round BURSTS out of the muzzle. An instant later
all that’s left of the target and the wall behind it is a
smoking crater.
Yardley and Rowe exchange a look. They’re impressed.
INT. OUTFITTING ROOM

Boggs, Bliss and Louden, in front row seats, marvel at the
Chief. She’s modeling a sleek SPACESUIT. A British
TECHNICIAN describes the suit’s many features.
TECHNICIAN
The Extraterrestial Battle Suit, or
EBS, is the world’s most advanced,
self contained warrior suit. Each
suit has been customized to meet
your unique biological needs. It
continuously monitors your vital
signs and auto-adjusts for optimum
survivability... For example, if
you have a heart attack, it’ll give
you CPR or a shot of adrenaline,
whatever’s needed. The EBS
provides an assortment of personal
weaponory to complement your AK-57,
including wrist-mounted miniguns, a
pop up, shoulder-mounted mini-RPG,
grappling gear, and my personal
favorite: twin bayonets for
close-in combat.
The Chief turns away, looks over her shoulder like a runway
model and smiles.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 65.
CHIEF
(to Boggs, Bliss and Louden)
Well guys, what do you think: does
my ass look big in this?
Before anyone can answer, she clenches her fists and
three-foot-long, razor-sharp bayonets slide out of each
sleeve. Boggs, Louden and Sorkin react. "Gulp."
LOUDEN
(covers his balls)
No way, Chief... You look great.
TECHNICIAN
All systems of the EBS are voice
activated. You tell it what to do
and it does it. Chief, put this on.
He hands the Chief a HELMET and she slides it on with a
CLICK. A holographic HUD pops up inside her visor and we
see the room from the Chief’s POV.
TECHNICIAN
Chief, please say "Minigun ready."
CHIEF
Minigun ready!
A gun barrel opens on her right wrist. She aims at Boggs
and the HUD "locks" onto him. He starts to sweat. The
Chief smiles mischieviously. "This is awesome?"
TECHNICIAN
A radar-aided, multi-targeting fire
control system integrates with your
AK-57 and virtually guarantees a
bulls-eye on every shot.
Identification Friend-or-Foe
prevents friendly fire casualties.
The Chief frowns. Boggs exhales, relieved.
BRITISH SOLDIER
Sounds like a blooming wonder
suit. Tell me, if I catch a round
to the chest will it evac me the
bloody hell outta there?
The troops laugh at the Brit’s gallows humor.
TECHNICIAN
I’m glad you asked that, soldier.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 66.
The technician casually walks away and picks up an M-16 from

a rifle stand. BAM!-BAM!-BAM! He opens up on the Chief,
firing four rounds in her torso and face. Bullets bounce
off the EBS, knocking the Chief off her feet. Soldiers hit
the deck. When they look up, the technician is standing over
the Chief. She looks up at him; sees the HUD scrolling
information on her condition, weapons status, etc.
CHIEF
(to herself)
Awesome.
TECHNICIAN
This space suit will keep you live
long enough to save the human race.
INT. SIMULATOR
A vast, post-apocalyptic landscape that looks as much like
the surface of Titan as can be imagined by those who’ve
never been there. Wind HOWLS. A blinding strike of
LIGHTENING and we glimpse Zach, the Chief, Honeycutt and a
Chinese soldier crouching in EBSs, AK-57s at the ready.
Suddenly, Silayev and other troops glide down from a dune,
firing their AK-57s. A pitched, mock battle ensues.
Time passes and other troops play war games in the brutal
conditions of the Titan simulator. Over this --
VILLAGRA (V.O.)
Titan’s atmosphere is ninety-eight
percent nitrogen, compared to the
eighty-twenty nitrogen-oxygen
mixture on Earth. The atmosphere
is so thick and the gravity so low
that humans could fly short
distances by flapping their arms...
The surface is smooth but there are
mountains and ice volcanoes. Radar
images show that Titan has vast
hydrocarbon lakes, filled with
methane. The icy moon has seasonal
weather patterns, including wind
and methane rain, that have created
dunes and shorelines like those on
Earth. In fact, except for it’s
extremely low temperatures, Titan
is very much like an early Earth...
DISSOLVE TO:
67.
EXT. BAIKONUR COSMODROME, KAZAKHSTAN - SUNSET

The world’s largest manned space launch facility. Two giant
SOYUZ ROCKETS wait on sister launch pads. Attached to them
are American space shuttles - ALPHA and OMEGA. The
spacecraft are silhouetted before a spectacular setting sun.
MISSION CONTROL (V.O.)
(in Russian)
Commencing final pre-launch systems
check.
Exhaust seeps out of the rockets. We hear the VOICES of
flight techs who run checks of thousands of systems.
INT. KREMLIN, PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE - SUNSET

Prime Minister Perminov sits, lost in thought.
(in Russian)
Alpha flight; Omega flight. You
are clear for lift off. T-minus
twenty seconds. Nineteen,
eighteen, seventeen...

A rolling RUMBLE shakes the ground.
INT. THE WHITE HOUSE, OVAL OFFICE - NIGHT

President Phelps stands at the window, staring out at the
Rose Garden.
(in Russian)
...ten, nine, eight...

A RUMBLING like a serious EARTHQUAKE. Exhaust BILLOWS from
the Soyus boosters.
(in Russian)
...five -- fire primary ignition --
The boosters IGNITE thunderously.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 68.

(in Russian)
...four, three, two, one. Lift
off.
Alpha and Omega BLAST OFF.
EXT. UPPER ATMOSPHERE

The shuttles storm past us on their way to...
EXT. VIKING 1
A massive spacecraft, the main hull of which is an elliptic
cylinder with three large rotating windmill-like arms,
floating high above Earth.
SUPERIMPOSE: Viking 1 Deep Space Explorer
Shuttles Alpha and Omega approach Viking 1 and dock on
opposite sides of the spacecraft. Time passes and the
shuttles disengage. Viking 1 fires its thrusters and begins
the journey into deep space. Over this --
ZHANG (V.O.)
Traveling at 36 kilometers per
second, our journey to Titan will
take one year, ten months and
fourteen days...
INT. VIKING 1, CRYO ROOM

A long room bathed in warm red light like a submarine.
Lining the walls, cryogenic chambers. Inside each clear
case is a naked special ops soldier in frozen sleep.
ZHANG (V.O.)
For eighteen months of our journey,
the assault team will remain in
cryogenic sleep. Their vitals will
be maintained and nutrients
administered by the ship’s surgeon.
A hatch slides open and Zhang enters the room, dressed in
military shorts and a t-shirt. She sits at a workstation
and begins typing. A monitor displays holographic images of
each soldier and their vital signs.
69.
JUPITER - FROM SPACE

Enormous, majestic. And very close. A speck moves across
the gas giant. SLOW ZOOM TO REVEAL the speck is Viking 1.
INT. VIKING 1, VARIOUS SHOTS

The spacecraft has the amenities of a modern military vessel
- living quarters, galley, mess, sick bay, gym, etc.
Zhang walks down a passageway, nods as she passes two CREW
MEMBERS, then stops to look out a portal at Jupiter.
INT. VIKING 1, FLIGHT DECK

U.S. Air Force Colonel RICK STOVALL (40), sharp, serious,
combat fighter pilot, is the man in control.
Russian Air Force Captain KATARINA KAROPOVICH (30), a
calming presence, is in the right seat.
Royal Air Force Lieutenant JEFF WINTERS (28), flight
engineer.
And Ed Villagra maintains the navigation systems.
ZHANG (V.O.)
While the soldiers sleep, the
ten-member crew of the Viking will
live and work together for the
duration of the voyage to ensure we
make it across the galaxy safely.
A hatch slides open and Zhang comes onto the flight deck.
She stands behind Villagra, rests a hand on his shoulder and
discreetly runs her fingers along the nape of his neck.
INT. VIKING 1, CRYO ROOM

Zhang and two MEDICS enter and immediately go to work
pushing buttons and flicking switches on the cryo chambers.
ZHANG (V.O.)
Shortly before we arrive in Titan’s
orbit, we will awaken the assault
team. They will have four months
in space to acclimate themselves.
As the cryo chambers slide open we see thawing FACES of the
soldiers. Zhang and the medics give each of them a shot
with an INJECTION GUN.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 70.
ANGLE ON Zach"s face as his chamber opens. Zhang gives him

a shot and his eyes flutter open. He steps out, dazed. He
looks at Zhang then at the injection gun. He reacts.
ZHANG
Adrenalin, Commander.
She smiles to help him understand. He does.
ZACH
(garbled, groggy)
Wha r wa --
ZHANG
It will take several minutes for
you to orient yourself, Commander.
For now, please take this and sit.
She hands him a hospital smock, helps him into a fold down
seat in his cryo chamber and walks across the room. Zach
notices other soldiers - Sorkin, Boggs, Keiko, Honeycutt,
Lin, Silayev, the Chief - waking from their deep freeze.
Then he sees Vanessa’s chamber slide open. Zhang gives her a
shot and she wakes. As Zhang speaks to her, Vanessa’a eyes
meet Zach’s. He offers a comforting smile. She stares.
INT. VIKING 1, GYM

Ten soldiers work out. The Chief and Louden have worked up
a sweat on treadmills.
LOUDEN
I don’t know how they do it, Chief.
CHIEF
How who does what?
LOUDEN
The guys on submarines. They go
six months cooped up in those
floating sardine cans. What’s it
been for us up here, four months
since cryo? Jesus, I can’t wait to
get off this crate.
The Chief looks at him, considers what it really means "to
get off this crate."
71.
INT. VIKING 1, PASSAGEWAY

ANGLE ON a spectacular STARFIELD in the vast reaches of
space. Then we notice Vanessa’s reflection. She’s staring
pensively at the starfield through a portal. She doesn’t
notice Zach coming down the passageway toward her.
ZACH
Dr. Pettigrew. Hello.
VANESSA
Oh, hello, Commander Ramsay.
He looks out the portal. Beat.
ZACH
I never dreamt of becoming an
astronaut, but here I am with a
front row seat to the stars...
Magnificent, isn’t it?
VANESSA
Yes, it is.
ZACH
(looks at her)
I’m not what you’d call a religious
man - not by a long shot. But
every time I look out there I can’t
help thinking we’re that much
closer to God.
Beat.
VANESSA
You’re a very brave man,
Commander. All of you are...
Incredibly brave.
ZACH
In special ops you know every job
could be a one-way ticket. This
time we know it is. But none of us
is here just because we’re brave or
because we want to be heroes. We’re
here because we know what’s at
stake, and there’s nobody on Earth
better prepared to get the job
done.
A long beat.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 72.
VANESSA
Thank you, Commander.
ZACH
Tell me something, Doctor. Why are
here?
VANESSA
I did dream of being an astronaut,
Commander. But we Brits never
fancied having a space program. The
closest I could get was becoming
the PM’s advisor for space
exploration.
ZACH
That explains why you flew a
billion miles across the
galaxy. But it doesn’t explain why
a linguist with enough degrees to
stuff a rhino is on a military
mission. Or why you went into cryo.
They look at each other for a long beat and he realizes that
there is much more to her than meets the eye.
VANESSA
Like you, Commander, I have a job
to do, and there is nobody on Earth
better prepared to do it than me.
INT. VIKING 1, CARGO BAY

The largest part of the ship, the cargo bay is the size of a
small aircraft hangar. In it are two sleek landing ships -
ALPHA OSPREY and OMEGA OSPREY - and field weaponry for the
assault - HUMVEES, SCOUT BIKES, two MIRV MISSILES, etc.
Lin Shihong and his Alpha team counterpart, Green Beret
Lieutenant BEV SHARPTON (26), black, sharp-edged and
gung-ho, supervise four Viking CREW MEMBERS who are loading
the landing craft.
SHARPTON
Hey, you! Look smart when you’re
securing the thermonuclear
warheads!
SERGEANT
(defending the crew)
I think we’ve got it under control,
Lieutenant.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 73.
SHARPTON
I don’t want to "think" it’s under
control, Sargeant, I want to
know! You read me?!
SERGEANT
Yes, Ma’am! Loud and clear, Ma’am!
The SERGEANT turns to her subordinates and stresses that
they be extra diligent.
LIN
Lieutenant, it does appear that
everything is in order here. The
nukes are harmless until they’re
electronically armed.
SHARPTON
We drop in five days. We still
don’t know what, if any, resistance
we’re going to face. What we do
know is we have one shot to save
our world. If we fail, it won’t be
because somebody forgot to tighten
a bolt in the cargo bay.
INT. VIKING 1, COMMON AREA

Soldiers relax. Some play cards, others listen to music in
their headphones or talk quietly. The mood is sober. These
are people counting the hours left in their lives.
INT. VIKING 1, COMMUNICATION STATION

Directly below the flight deck. Silayev, Zach, Lin,
Sharpton, Stovall and Vanessa have a tense conversation.
SILAYEV
These signals you’ve received --
STOVALL
I wouldn’t call them signals,
exactly. More like static or noise.
SILAYEV
Very well, "noise." How certain
are you that it’s not from Titan?
STOVALL
One hundred percent. We did a full
refractive scan and came up empty
from nine million kilometers out.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 74.
Silayev looks at Vanessa. She refers to an oscillating,

three-dimensional IMAGE on a monitor that graphs the
"noise."
VANESSA
Everything we know about Titanian
communication patterns suggests
that this is far too primative for
them. If it were a form of
communication it would be analogous
to an Earth caveman grunting.
SHARPTON
That grunting eventually became
thousands of human languages, Dr.
Pettigrew.
VANESSA
Six thousand, nine hundred and
thirty-five languages at last
count, Lieutenant. Your point?
ZACH
I believe the Lieutenant’s point is
that even if it is primitive, it
could still be a form of
communication. And if so, it could
mean they’re monitoring us.
Zach and Vanessa exchange a look. She doesn’t appreciate
his attempt at "diplomacy."
LIN
With the message from the
Presidents and the Prime Ministers
already enroute to us, their
transmission would certainly be
intercepted.
VANESSA
None of them would say anything to
jeopardize the mission.
SHARPTON
(cynical)
Said the Prime Minister’s advisor.
Vanessa cuts her a look.
ZACH
Look, we’re way past the point of
no return here. We’re going
through with the insertion whether
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 75.
ZACH (CONT’D.)
they know we’re coming or not,
right, Colonel?
SILAYEV
Correct, Commander. But we need to
take every precaution so that
Colonel Stovall and his crew can
return to Earth safely with Doctors
Pettigrew, Cheung and Villagra.
Vanessa reacts. Now is the time to show her
hand. Partially.
VANESSA
Colonel, I’m not returning with the
Viking. I’m going to the surface
with the assault team.
All but Stovall look at her like she’s crazy.
SILAYEV
Doctor, that’s simply not
possible. You of all people know
we have no room for error on this
mission. And no hope of return
once we leave this ship.
VANESSA
Colonel Stovall.
Colonel Silayev and Zach look to the flight commander.
STOVALL
It’s true. I have direct orders
from the Presidents of the United
States and China and the Prime
Ministers of Russia and Great
Britain authorizing Dr. Pettigrew
to land on Titan with you, Colonel.
SILAYEV
But why?
VANESSA
I’m sorry, but I can only tell you
that once we’re on the surface of
the moon, Colonel.
OFF plenty of confused faces...
76.

The meeting has ended and Vanessa is walking down the
passageway. Zach catches up to her.
ZACH
Dr. Pettigrew, wait.
She turns. Looks him in the eyes.
ZACH
What the hell do you think you’re
doing? We’re all going to die down
there.
VANESSA
Yes, Commander Ramsay, we are. And
what I’m doing is my job. Just
like you... Good night, Commander.
She turns away and continues down the passageway. He just
watches her go.
EXT. VIKING 1
Moving through space. Saturn comes into view.

The Viking crew and assault troops listen solemnly as an
address by the leaders of their respective countries is
piped through the ship. As the leaders speak, we see the
reaction of our characters. Their words are different, but
the leaders’ message is the same...
PRESIDENT PHELPS (V.O.)
In a matter of days you will embark
upon the most important endeavor
since the Allies landed on the
beaches of Normandy. At stake then
was the future of the world -
whether we would live as free
people or under the yoke of
totalitarian tyranny. Today, our
enemies are not of this world and
what is at stake is not just our
way of life, but life on Earth
itself. As when the Allies stormed
the beaches of Normandy and fought
to push Darkness from the world, we
once again have banded together,
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 77.
PRESIDENT PHELPS (V.O.) (CONT’D.)

putting aside political, national
and cultural differences, to defeat
a common enemy. And now, as then,
we send our very best to save the
world.
(beat)
Nearly a century ago, at the height
of the Battle of Britain, Winston
Churchill said, "Never was so much
owed by so many to so few." There
are no more eloquent words to
express what you gallant few have
sacrificed. We will forever be
grateful. Our thoughts, our love
and our prayers go with you. May
God bless you and keep you all.
Zach and the Chief sit across from each other at a
table. Their eyes meet and we see something is their stare,
something that’s been there for years but that they never
dared to acknowledge until this very moment. And now that
they have...
INT. VIKING 1, CARGO BAY

Deathly quiet and dark, except for accent lighting on the
two Ospreys. In a bay window, Zach and the Chief sit
side-by-side, looking out at a billion stars. After a long
silence they turn to face one another. He caresses her face.
ZACH
Tess.
CHIEF
Yes, Zach.
ZACH
I’m sorry...for never telling you
how I feel about you.
CHIEF
I’ve always known, Zach.
(a smile off his reaction)
What?
ZACH
Mom always said I didn’t have to
look far to find the perfect
girl. I just had to fly a billion
miles to figure out she’s been
right by my side for three years.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 78.
CHIEF
Well, now that you know where I
am...
They kiss, tentatively at first, then deeply and
passionately. They make love in the bay window amongst the
stars.
INT. VANESSA’S BERTH - DAY OF ASSAULT

Vanessa is sitting on her bunk in her jumpsuit, eyes closed,
hands in her lap. Like a school girl. An alarm BUZZES.
KARAPOVICH (V.O.)
Assault teams, report to the cargo
bay for insertion. I say again,
report to the cargo bay for
insertion.
Vanessa’s eyes open. She’s at peace.
INT. READY ROOM - DAY OF ASSAULT

Soldiers help each other into their EBSs. We FIND the Chief
and Keiko, still in their jumpsuits, embracing tightly. When
they part, they look into each other’s eyes and share a
smile for courage. Then the Chief looks over Keiko’s
shoulder at Honeycutt, and at Bliss, Boggs, Louden and
Sorkin. She embraces them all.
INT. VIKING 1, COMMUNICATION STATION, DAY OF ASSAULT

Silayev, Zach, Lin, Sharpton, Stovall and Villagra look at a
projected holographic map of Titan’s surface.
VILLAGRA
Titan’s atmosphere rotates much
faster than its surface, so your
pilots could become disoriented
during descent. Insertion points
have been programmed into the
Ospreys’ computers, so you’ll be
fine if the pilots trust their
instruments.
SILAYEV
Under current weather conditions,
how long should the decsent take?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 79.
VILLAGRA
You’ll be landing here, in the
equatorial Xanadu region in the
middle of Titan’s winter. Methane
rain clouds are present, so that
will slow the descent. I’d say ten
minutes from atmosphere to surface.
SILAYEV
And still no sign of the Titanians?
STOVALL
Negative. Probes we sent around
Saturn before we entered Titan’s
orbit should be returning data
shortly. So far, scans of the
surface and around the moon are
blank.
Silayev and his officers share a look. Nothing left to do
now but get on with it.
SILAYEV
Thank you, Colonel.
They shake hands. Stovall shakes hands with each of them
then he stands at attention and formally salutes. The
assault team leaders snap to and return his salute.

Silayev and Zach, now in EBSs but without helmets, join up
with their outfitted troops. No words need to be
spoken. Zach and the Chief exchange a look.
INT. VIKING 1, CARGO BAY - DAY OF ASSAULT

QUICK CUTS of activity as the Viking crew hurries to ready
the Ospreys for deployment. Villagra and Zhang watch from a
landing above the cargo floor. They look at each other
meaningfully then hold hands.
The assualt troops file into the cargo bay and the buzz dies
down. The crew stands at ease alongside the Ospreys.
Lieutenant Winters approaches Silayev, salutes crisply.
Silayev returns it.
WINTERS
Sir. Ospreys ready for insertion.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 80.
SILAYEV
Thank you, Lieutenant.
As the troops begin to file into the Ospreys, all hands of
the Viking crew come to attention and salute. The soldiers
pause to take it in, appreciate it.
Boggs, Honeycutt, Keiko and the Chief board Omega Osprey;
Louden, Bliss and Sorkin board Alpha Osprey with
Sharpton. Vanessa, in her EBS, comes up to Silayev.
SILAYEV
(gestures)
Doctor, after you.
VANESSA
Colonel, I know I was assigned to
Alpha, but if you don’t mind, I
would like to land with Omega.
Zach reacts.
SILAYEV
Certainly, Dr. Pettigrew. As you
wish.
She shakes Silayev’s hand firmly, looks him in the eyes.
VANESSA
God bless you, Colonel.
He nods and she walks past Zach into Omega Osprey. Only
Silayev and Zach remain. They look at each other.
ZACH
(salutes)
I’ll see you on the surface, sir.
SILAYEV
(returns salute)
Commander.
When they are both aboard their Ospreys with hatches closed,
the Viking crew end their salute.
WINTERS (V.O.)
Clear the cargo bay and prepare to
launch Ospreys.
The crew evacuates the cargo bay as it transforms into a
launch bay.
81.
EXT. TITAN ORBIT

The Ospreys speed toward Titan.
INT. ALPHA OSPREY - IN ORBIT

Silayev rides shotgun. His pilot, Flight Lieutenant
Fitzhume, reads his instruments.
FITZHUME
Approaching terminus. It’s going
to get quite bumpy in a minute,
sir. We’d better put our lids on.
Silayev pushes a button on the console. In the main cabin,
yellow LIGHTS flash and the soldiers put their helmets on
just as the turbulance starts.
INT. OMEGA OSPREY - IN FLIGHT - TERMINUS

The ride is rough. Soldiers are fastening their helmets.
Boggs clicks his helmet on and, chomping his gum, looks up
at the Chief. She grins at him.
CHIEF
Where’s it go when you’re done with
it?
Boggs stops chomping. Looks down inside his helmet. He
didn’t think about that.
Vanessa is nervous as hell now, has a hard time with her
helmet. Keiko helps her.
KEIKO
There you go, Ma’am.
VANESSA
Thank you.
KEIKO
Stick with the Skipper and us
SEALs. We’ll look out for you as
much as we can.
82.
EXT. TITAN, VARIOUS SHOTS - TWILIGHT

Cold. Quiescent. No sign of life as we know it. Dunes
made of ice stretch farther than the eye can see. The sky -
what little we see through the smog - is orange. A
haze-obscured Saturn looms like a giant, seemingly close
enough to touch.
BOOM! A sonic explosion as an Osprey enters the atmosphere.
INT. ALPHA OSPREY - IN FLIGHT - TWILIGHT

Fitzhume looks to his left, to his right. Thick orange
clouds shroud the cockpit windows. He looks to his
INSTRUMENTS.
FITZHUME
Descending at twelve hundred knots.
Altitude one hundred twenty miles.
Zero visibility.
We hear another sonic BOOM. Fitzhume looks at his radar and
smiles. The Omega Osprey is on his tail.
FITZHUME
Omega, glad you could make it.
HERZL (V.O.)
Glad to be here, Alpha. On your
six.
EXT. TITAN SKY - TWILIGHT

The Ospreys streak through the clouds like birds of prey.

Suddenly, ALARMS blare and red LIGHTS flash in the cockpit.
FITZHUME
Omega, I’ve got a bogey! Bearing
zero-nine-zero! Going to evasive
maneuvers!
Silayev looks at Fitzhume.
SILAYEV
Get us the hell out of here, Flight
Lieutenant.
83.

A partially seen ALIEN AIRSHIP skates through the clouds and
opens fire with powerful energy bursts. The Ospreys begin a
series of aerial stunts to avoid being shot down.
INT. OMEGA OSPREY - IN FLIGHT - TWILIGHT

ALARMS are going off like crazy in the cockpit. THEODOR
HERZL (26), Spetsnaz GRU, cool and assured, is at the helm.
Zach is next to him, pulling some serious G-forces. QUICK
CUTS of the cabin to see the soldiers and Vanessa are too.
FITZHUME (V.O.)
He’s on my tail, firing again!!
HERZL
Alpha, no visual contact and can’t
get radar lock. Viking, radar’s for
shit in these methane clouds. Can
you intercept? Over.

Stovall and Karapovich are working like crazy to pick up the
enemy airship on their instruments.
STOVALL
We’re on it. Give us a minute.
FITZHUME (V.O.)
We don’t have a bloody minute,
Viking!
KARAPOVICH
How far before you clear the
clouds?
FITZHUME (V.O.)
Fifty-five miles. Coming up fast.

The Ospreys break through the clouds and streak across the
sky. The alien aircraft bursts out of the clouds too,
blasting away. The alien equivalent of a fighter jet, it
resembles a mechanical pterodactyl.
84.

Zach catches a glimpse of the Titan surface. Even in the
chaos of an air battle, he’s taken aback by WHAT HE SEES: a
dark, strange, utterly forbidding world.
What he sees next snaps him back. FLASHES from the ground
followed by powerful energy bursts in the sky all around the
Osprey. An antiaircraft barrage.
HERZL
Great! They’re firing at us from
the ground too!

A loud TONE. Fitzhume has radar lock.
FITZHUME
I’ve got tone! Firing!

The missile fires ahead of the Alpha Osprey then circles
around in pursuit of the alien ship. It’s a direct
hit. The mechanical pterodactyl explodes!

Stovall and Karapovich see the hit on their radar screen.
They high five each other. Then a BUZZING in the cockpit.
STOVALL
What the f--?!
WINTERS
Colonel, incoming! From the far
side of the moon! ETA to impact,
five minutes, sir!
OFF Stoval and Karapovich’s expressions...
INT. VIKING 1, COMMON AREA

Zhang and Villagra are having tea. A ship-wide ALARM gets
their attention.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 85.
KARAPOVICH (V.O.)
(calm but forceful)
Collision alert. Collision
alert. All crew immediately to
safe zones.
Zhang and Villagra are on their feet, moving quickly.

Villagra follows Zhang.
VILLAGRA
Safe zone?! What the hell is a
safe zone up here?!
ZHANG
Hurry, Ed. Please.
VILLAGRA
Hurry where? It takes three weeks
for a message to reach Earth and
two years for them to get here
after they receive it.
Zhang stops at a locker, opens it and pulls out a SPACE
SUIT. She shoves it at him.
ZHANG
Please, Ed! Just put it on and
let’s go!

Herzl and Zach look at Alpha Osprey flying off their wing.
HERZL
Good shooting, Fitz!
FITZHUME (V.O.)
Thanks, old chap, just --
Suddenly, a flash in the sky where the Alpha Osprey is
flying.
FITZHUME (V.O.)
We’re hit! We’re hit!
Herzl and Zach look over just as another round of
antiaircraft fire hits Alpha. The Osprey flips over and
dives toward the Titan surface. Zach and Herzl watch in
horror as Alpha Osprey plummets, engulfed in flames.
86.

QUICK CUTS of the horrific scene as Alpha dives.
EXT. TITAN - TWILIGHT

Alpha Osprey slams into an ice hill and explodes in a
spectacular fireball!

Collision ALARMS wail. Stovall, Karapovich and Winters work
feverishly to prepare for the attack. But they pause in
utter disbelief at the sound of Alpha Osprey’s destruction.
WINTERS
(stunned)
Oh my God.
HERZL (V.O.)
Alpha’s down! I say again, Alpha’s
down! Omega under heavy ground
fire!
EXT./INT. OMEGA OSPREY - IN FLIGHT - TWILIGHT

The aircraft banks and flips and weaves, avoiding thunderous
energy bolts of Titanian ack-ack.
ZACH
Get us on the ground, Lieutenant!
HERZL
I’m trying, sir! But we’re a
thousand miles off course!
ZACH
I don’t give a shit where we land!
Just get us down! Now!
HERZL
Yes, sir!
Herzl flies like an ace, and as he does we glimpse more of
Titan - vast ethane lakes, mountains, erupting ice
volcanoes, frozen canyons.
87.
EXT. TITAN ORBIT

An alien power pulse missile races toward the Viking 1.

We hear a loud, steady BUZZING tone. Stovall, Karapovich
and Winters are in spacesuits.
KARAPOVICH
We have radar lock on incoming
bogey. Impact in one minute,
thirty seconds, twenty-nine...
STOVALL
Fire!
Karapovich pulls a trigger on her control stick.
EXT. VIKING 1
A missile launches from a battery atop the spacecraft. It
collides with the incoming alien projectile and explodes.
But the alien weapon splits in two and continues hurling
toward the Viking, hitting in two places.
Two explosions rip into the ship, fore and aft. Fires ignite
along the hull. As it’s space and a vacuum, there is no
sound.
EXT. CANYON, LANDING ZONE - TWILIGHT

We hear the WAIL of Omega Osprey’s engines before we SEE her
coming in for a landing. She hits the ground hard. Hatches
open and soldiers pile out, led by the Chief.
CHIEF
(hell on wheels)
Let’s go! Move! Move! Move! Set
a picket fifty meters out! You and
you, fire up that Humvee! Yardley,
Rowe, Boggs, secure the MIRV!
Honeycutt and Keiko come out last with Vanessa between
them. Vanessa’s rattled but holding it together.
KEIKO
(points)
Ma’am, take cover over there,
between those boulders, until one
of us says different. Understand?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 88.
Vanessa looks at the boulders. Sees the frenetic activity

all around her. Stares at Keiko’s serious face. For the
first time in her life Vanessa feels completely helpless.
VANESSA
(weakly)
Okay.
She wanders off toward the boulders.
Zach stands next to the Osprey with Lin and Herzl. They’re
going over the area on a handheld holographic map.
ZACH
How far are we from Xanadu?
HERZL
(looks at map)
Seven, eight hundred miles.
LIN
They were obviously expecting
us. Being eight hundred miles off
target may buy us time to set up
and launch the MIRV, depending on
their location and speed.
Zach looks around for clues on how to use the foreign,
forbidding landscape to his advantage.
ZACH
It’ll take at least an hour to set
up the MIRV and lay in coordinates
for launch. We’ll have to defend
our position for at least that
long... Chief, Honeycutt!
They come to him.
CHIEF
We’ve set up a perimeter and are
unloading the Osprey. Radar’ll be
up in less than five, Skipper.
ZACH
Good. I want eyes up there in
those foothills. We need cover
long enough to get the MIRV powered
up and programmed.
CHIEF
So we’re going to fire it from
here, sir?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 89.
ZACH
This is as good a place as any to
send those coldblooded monsters to
hell. Get a squad - Cherninko,
Leong, Mao, Romanov - and get ’em
up in those hills.
CHIEF
Romanov is dead. Broke his neck in
the descent.
Beat. Zach feels a bit of remorse then --
ZACH
Dr. Pettigrew?! Where is she?!
HONEYCUTT
Back over there, by those boulders.
Zach sees her, leaning against a boulder collecting her
wits. Satisfied that she’s okay --
ZACH
(to Honeycutt)
Take the Humvee and drop six scouts
five clicks past the perimeter.
(to Lin)
Hail Viking One and confirm that
Alpha is scratched. Tell them if
we haven’t launched our MIRV in an
hour and thirty minutes, we’re not
going to and that they should haul
ass back to Earth.
Honeycutt takes off, barking out names. Lin looks at Zach
grimly and nods. He heads back to the Osprey to get on the
line with Viking. Zach looks at Vanessa.

Stovall, Karapovich and Winters are hunched over their
stations, dead. Systems are fried. Panels POP and SIZZLE.
LIN (V.O.)
(concern in his voice)
Viking One this is Omega, do you
read? Come in, Viking One. Where
are you?
A COMPUTER VOICE announces various onboard system failures.
90.

Crew members - some in spacesuits, others still in their
jumpsuits - lay dead in various parts of the ship.
INT. VIKING 1, SAFE ZONE

An area that doesn’t look very safe anymore. Badly damaged
from the alien strike, walls are buckled, lights flicker and
spark, smoke seeps from equipment. Another dead crew member
lay on the deck.
COMPUTER VOICE (V.O.)
Hull breach in sections two, three,
five and eight. Navigation off
line. Life support, forty
percent. Recommend abandon ship.
A hatch is forced open and Zhang and Villagra, in spacesuits
and helmets, enter the safe zone. They make their way to an
ESCAPE POD, about the size of a Gemini capsule. Zhang
punches a code on a PANEL and the pod hatch opens.
VILLAGRA
Zhang, this is crazy. There’s
noplace to go.
ZHANG
Ed, we can’t stay here. Everyone
is dead. It’s our only hope.
VILLAGRA
Hope?! I don’t want to float
around aimlessly in space in a deep
freeze forever. I’d rather just
die now and be done with it.
She turns, looks at him with compassionate eyes.
ZHANG
I don’t want to die either, Ed. But
we can’t give up. As long as we’re
alive - even if we’re in cryo sleep
- there is hope.
They embrace then look into one another’s eyes.
VILLAGRA
I suppose the worse thing that can
happen is we’ll spend eternity
together in the stars.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 91.
ZHANG
(sad smile)
And I won’t have to tell my parents
about the White American Devil I’ve
fallen in love with.
They step into the pod, sit down and hook themselves up to
tubes before strapping themselves in. Zhang flips switches
and pushes buttons, beginning the cryo process, while
Villagra punches coordinates into the navigation system.
VILLAGRA
It’ll be like finding a needle in a
haystack, but if someone does get
the Viking’s distress call and
comes looking for us, we’ll be in
their flight path.
ZHANG
Cryo sequence will initiate thirty
minutes after launch. They assumed
that anyone needing the escape pod
would want to go into cryo sleep as
soon as possible, due to injury or
trauma.
VILLAGRA
The board is green. All systems go
for pod launch. Launch in thirty
seconds, starting...
(pushes ignition button)
now.
The countdown clock starts. Zhang looks over at him,
squeezes his gloved hand in hers.
VILLAGRA
You’re in love with me?
(beat, she nods)
I love you too, Zhang.
EXT. VIKING 1
The escape pod jettisons from underneath the space ship.

Vanessa is sitting on a boulder. Zach stands over her.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 92.
VANESSA
I can’t believe it. Colonel Silayev
and all those soldiers. And I was
supposed to land with them...
ZACH
Listen, Dr. Pettigrew. There’s no
point in fretting: they’re gone and
that’s that. We’ve got a mission
and that’s all that matters now. We
traveled over a billion miles to
end these bastards and that’s just
what I intend to do.
VANESSA
Yes, of course, Commander. I
know. It’s just... I never
thought...
ZACH
Nobody ever does, Doctor. Now this
mission of yours; considering the
total "cluster" we’re in right now,
I’d say it’s time for you to cough
up why you’re here.
She looks up into his battle ready eyes, knows there is no
point in playing diplomacy games.
VANESSA
By the late sixties, Britain, the
U.S. and Russia had established
ongoing diplomatic discussions with
the Titanians. They shared space
exploration technology with us in
exchange for the right to
peacefully explore our deep oceans.
Zach reacts, anger rising.
ZACH
You mean we knew they were down
there?! Matt and my father and
their men were killed by an enemy
we gave refuge to!
Zach is so furious he has to turn away.
VANESSA
I’m so very sorry, Commander.
Believe me, I am... Everything we
knew about the Titanians’ Earth
explorations indicated they were
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 93.
VANESSA (CONT’D.)
peace-loving and diplomatic
beings. But that changed after
Pioneer Eleven.
He faces her again, back in mission mode. She stands.
ZACH
What about Pioneer Eleven?
VANESSA
The Titanians shared their
technology with us on the condition
that we not send probes to Saturn
or any of her moons. Pioneer
Eleven made the first flyby of
Saturn in 1979. A year later,
Voyager One made a close flyby of
Titan. Communications with the
Titanians broke down after that and
by the mid-eighties we were
convinced they were becoming
hostile toward us.
ZACH
Hostile in what way?
VANESSA
(beat)
The Space Shuttle Challenger didn’t
explode due to a faulty oh-ring,
Commander.
ZACH
(disgusted)
My God...
CHIEF (O.S.)
INCOMING!
We hear a sickening WHISTLING SOUND. Zach turns just as Lin
steps out of the Osprey and an alien mortar EXPLODES into
it, BLOWING the craft and Lin to pieces.
Zach grabs Vanessa and throws her between two boulders.
ZACH
Stay here! Don’t move!
He leaves her to command his troops in what turns out to be
a fantastic battle.
94.
EXT. CANYON, THE BATTLE - TWILIGHT

Alien mortars rain down on the Omega team, killing several
soldiers instantly. EXPLOSIONS everywhere. Omega troops
take defensive positions and fire away. Lots of CHATTER on
com-links as the Omegas call out targets, etc. It’s a
sensational, otherworldly fireworks display!
INTERCUT the Omega team fighting for their lives
(Note: all POV is through helmet heads-up-display, HUD)
THE CHIEF
takes aim with her AK-57. Her POV: three obscured aliens
hide behind different rock formations about 200 meters away.
HUD targets each as a "Foe". "Locks" on. She fires three
shots. In an instant "Kill" "Kill" "Kill" shows on her HUD.
ZACH
takes aim. His POV: "Foe" 300 meters away.
ZACH
Magnify!
His POV: like a high-powered camera, his HUD zooms in and
for the first time we see a living, breathing Titanian!
TITANIAN SOLDIER
body armor, eight-feet tall, muscular, with transluscent
skin, purple dreadlocks and large, black, lidless reptillian
eyes. He looks sraight INTO CAMERA an instant before a
photon round from Zach’s AK-57 blows him to bits.
ZACH
looking for another "Foe", finding one and firing.
ZACH
Boggs, how we doing with the MIRV?!
BOGGS
BOGGS
(chewing gum)
Almost there, Skipper!
Boggs. Yardley and Rowe work to set up the MIRV
launcher. In the icy canyon foothills above them, two
Chinese soldiers fire away at aliens. One of them, MAO
(26), looks up.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 95.
MAO
Incoming! Aircraft!
Mao’s POV: a ptarodactyl aircraft zeroing in on the MIRV
launcher. It opens fire.
MAO
Ready RPG!
A mini-rocket propelled grenade launcher flips out of the
left shoulder of his EBS. Mao’s HUD locks onto the "Foe."
MAO
Fire RPG!
The RPG streaks into the sky and blows the alien ship away.
MIRV LAUNCH SITE
the missile launcher is unhit, but Boggs is dead on the
ground, a slushy red hole the size of a softball through his
chest. His gum now stuck to the inside of his bloody visor.
Yardley and Rowe continue preparing the MIRV for launch.
ZACH
moves to another position. As he does, he takes note of
Vanessa - terrified but still alive - and of the Chief -
she’s sending aliens to alien hell. He looks around, finds
Keiko, who’s targeting foes and firing away.
ZACH
Honeycutt, come in! Sit rep!
EXT. HONEYCUTT’S POSITION - TWILIGHT

Honeycutt is hunkered down behind the Humvee with KOCHINKO
(25). They’re taking a lot more fire than they can return.
HONEYCUTT
In a word, FUBAR, Skip! Me and
Kochinko are pinned down, two
clicks from your position.
He looks at Kochinko, blasting away like a Russian Rambo.
INTERCUT: ZACH/HONEYCUTT
ZACH
(a code between them)
How they treating you?!
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 96.
HONEYCUTT
Like a baby treats a diaper! And
we’re way low on baby wipes!
Beat. The silence between them is telling.
Zach looks across at Keiko. She hears the exchange via her
com-link and looks at Zach.
ZACH
Send them to hell, Kareem. And
I’ll see you when I get there.
HONEYCUTT
Not if I see you first, Zach.
Zach and Keiko continue to look at each other. She fights
back tears. Then she flicks a mental switch, turns toward
the enemy and starts blasting.
EXT. HONEYCUTT’S POSITION - TWILIGHT

Titanians close in on the Humvee. Honeycutt and Kochinko
are firing away. Kochinko takes an alien round to the face
and is killed instantly. Honeycutt glances at him then goes
back to shooting. CLICK-CLICK. His AK-57 is empty. He
starts firing his wrist minigun, killing more Titanians.
Honeycutt’s POV: more enemy troops than his HUD can lock on
to. He keeps shooting until an alien round blows a hole in
his chest. He hits the ground. Dead. Titanians move past
him on their way to the main fight.

TITANIANS
hundreds of them, move in from all directions, raining
ordnance as they encircle the Earthling invaders.
VANESSA
can’t take cowering any longer. She musters her courage and
runs to a fallen soldier, grabs his AK-57. She’s horrified
by the dead man’s remains: his visor is cracked and his face
is covered in a frozen death mask of his own blood.
She turns and is terrified by WHAT SHE SEES: a Titanian
soldier, silhouetted by the orange sky and falling toward
her, SHRIEKING a battle cry. He lands on both feet with a
THUMP, raises his hand to strike her. She’s too frightened
to scream. Just stares, facinated by his strange features.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 97.
Suddenly, he’s BLOWN backward by a photon blast, his dark

turquoise-colored blood splattering on Vanessa’s EBS. The
Chief grabs Vanessa’s arm, hauls her to her feet.
CHIEF
You alright, Doctor?!
VANESSA
Y-Yes. I think so.
CHIEF
(ref the AK-57)
You know how to use that?!
VANESSA
I believe --
(sees something)
CHIEF!
The Chief has already seen the alien’s REFLECTION in
Vanessa’s visor. She squeezes her fists at the same time
that she turns, and her sleeve bayonets slide out --
The eight-foot Titanian is sushi before he even knows what
hit him. As he falls to his knees, the Chief finishes the
job by slashing a bayonet across his neck, decapitating him.
Vanessa goes lightheaded at the sight of the gore. The
Chief retracts the bayonets, turns to Vanessa. She grabs
her arm roughly to steady her.
CHIEF
(ref. the AK-57)
Just keep shooting! Understand?!
Don’t think. Shoot!
MIRV LAUNCH SITE

Zach is at the MIRV launch console, typing in
coordinates. Yardley, Rowe, Mao and the other Chinese
soldier in the foothill location are covering him, gunning
down Titanians left and right.
Zach punches in a six-digit code then presses a red
button. The LAUNCH SEQUENCE starts. The COUNTDOWN CLOCK
starts at 30:00:00. Zach leaves the console to take a
defensive position to protect the MIRV launcher.
ROWE
Incoming! Another aircraft!
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 98.
Zach looks up at the pterodactyl swooping in. It opens up,

this time with a powerful laser-like beam that hits the icy
ground, cutting a terrible swath toward the MIRV. The beam
SLICES two soldiers in half.
ZACH
sees the beam coming right at him. It blows up a boulder
and a huge chunk slams into him, knocking him 20 feet. He
hits a rock formation before slamming to the ground.
YARDLEY & ROWE
right in front of the MIRV and in the path of the beam, open
up with their AK-57s, firing everything they’ve got at the
ptreodactyl. It works! The aircraft explodes and the laser
beam stops inches away from the two relieved Brits.
ROWE
(looks at AK-57)
Bloody Russian engineering.
THE CHIEF
sees that Zach is down.
CHIEF
Keiko! The Skipper’s down!
Keiko looks over at her. She’s fighting side-by-side with
Vanessa, who has gotten the hang of targeting and shooting
her AK-57. Keiko nods at the Chief, "Go to him!"
The Chief heads toward Zach’s position, miraculously dodging
enemy fire as she "bounds" large distances in the dense
Titanian air. She reaches Zach, tosses down her rifle and
turns him over. A blinking yellow LIGHT inside his helmet
shows he’s alive, just out cold.
CHIEF
Skipper! Skipper!
(panic rising)
Zach, please!
YARDLEY (O.S.)
Chief, behind you!
She turns. Her POV: five Titanians moving in fast for the
kill. She stands.
CHIEF
Minigun ready!
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (4) 99.
She points her right arm at the "Foes" and opens fire. They
fall. We hear the ZOOM of a pterodactyl engine overhead. It
shoots powerful energy bursts at the Chief and the prone
Zach. Misses.
The Chief turns to Zach, still out. She watches as the
alien aircraft circles back. It’s after them and only
them. She stands over Zach, ready to defend him to the
end. The pterodactyl swoops in for the kill.
INT. PTERODACTYL COCKPIT - TWILIGHT

ANGLE ON the PILOT’S HANDS gripping the controls of this
alien equivalent of a fighter jet. Three clawed "fingers" on
each hand.
PTERODACTYL PILOT’S POV - THE CHIEF
Her image as seen on the pilot’s targeting screen. She’s in
the bulls-eye. Alien script flashes. We can’t read it but
we’re pretty sure it says "Target Locked."
The "target" raises her right arm and fiery rounds streak
toward the pterodactyl.

THE CHIEF
her minigun fires away at the pterodactyl. Then we hear the
CLICK-CLICK that means she’s out of ammo. She squeezes her
fists and the bayonets pop out. She SCREAMS WITH RAGE at
the "Foe" that is only seconds from killing her and her
lover.
SUDDENLY, the pterodactyl EXPLODES. A FRIENDLY PTERODACTYL
has intercepted, blowing the foe out of the sky.
The Chief looks around. Friendly Titanian aircraft are
strafing foes! The foes begin to retreat.
EXT. CANYON, VARIOUS SHOTS - TWILIGHT

Bodies litter the canyon: dozens of Titanians, their
transluscent skin covered in blue-green blood. And
Earthlings, their bodies frozen hard as granite. CAMERA
PANS a dozen familiar faces - Boggs, Honeycutt, etc.
100.

An eerie return to quiet after the cacophony of battle.
Surviving Omega soldiers can hardly believe what’s
happened. Aren’t sure what to do next.
The Chief and Keiko tend to Zach, who is still unconscious.
A thin DATA CABLE runs from Zach’s EBS to the Chief’s. Her
POV: Zach’s VITAL SIGNS register on her HUD. He’s
fading. Morphine is being administered via his EBS.
Vanessa stands over them, concerned.
Herzl, the pilot, is the first to see the ALIEN TRACKER
rolling slowly up a canyon passage. About 50 Titanian foot
soldiers march alongside.
HERZL
Chief! Chief!
The Chief goes to Herzl. Vanessa is right behind
her. Omega troops gear up for another firefight.
CHIEF
Well, Doctor, you’re the expert.
What the hell’s going on here?
Vanessa peers at the Titanians. Her POV: data about the
"Foes" scrolls on her HUD.
VANESSA
Magnify.
Her POV: unlike their attackers, these Titanians wear no
uniform body armor. They’re ragtag, they’re --
VANESSA
Rebels.
CHIEF
Come again?
VANESSA
They’re rebels, Chief.
(almost to herself)
There may still be a chance after
all.
CHIEF
A chance for what?
101.
EXT. REBEL MEETING - TWILIGHT

The Chief, Keiko, Herzl, Yardley and Vanessa approach us,
stern expressions on their faces. They stop. Their eyes
rise up. REVERSE ANGLE and we see six REBEL TITANIANS,
their black eyes scrutinizing these strange "alien beings."
The REBEL LEADER, the most imposing of them all, steps
forward. Vanessa steps up from the Earthlings. When they
speak, it’s in gobbledy-gook that is translated for us in
subtitles.
REBEL LEADER
I am Xri, spawn of Xal, leader of
the Grull. What dost they calleth
thou?
This is a moment that Vanessa has only dreamt about. To be
the first human to speak face-to-face with an alien life
form. She maintains her poise, is the consummate diplomat.
VANESSA
I am called Doctor Vanessa
Pettigrew, envoy for the leaders of
my world, which we call Earth.
REBEL LEADER
And hast thou cometh to our world,
Hagenaw, to help the Grull? Or are
the Vang correct - that thou hast
cometh to destroy us all?
Beat.
VANESSA
We cometh to help the Grull.
Beat. The rebel leader studies her with unblinking eyes.
REBEL LEADER
Welcome to our world, Doctor
Vanessa Pettigrew.
SAME SCENE - MOMENTS LATER
Vanessa, the Chief, Keiko and Herzl talk in tense, hushed
tones while the Brits keep an eye on the rebels.
CHIEF
Civil war. What the hell are you
talking about?
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 102.
VANESSA
Two factions of Titans have been at
war for at least a fifty years:
those who want to colonize Earth,
and those who want to reestablish
diplomatic relations with us.
KEIKO
And these Grull are the good guys?
VANESSA
Yes. They believe we can work out
a mutual solution to our problems.
HERZL
Mutual problems? Our only problem
is them trying to put us on ice!
The Chief grabs Vanessa’s arm. She smells a rat.
CHIEF
What gives, Doctor Pettigrew?! Why
are we really here?!
The rebel leader sees them and reacts. Vanessa’s eyes

signal to the Chief to chill in front of the extra
terrestrials. She releases her arm.
VANESSA
It’s true that the Vang Titanians
have been on Earth, deep in our
oceans causing climate change to
bring about another Ice Age.
(beat)
What you don’t know is that will
take another six hundred years. And
we don’t have that much time.
KEIKO
What do you mean "we don’t have
that much time?"
VANESSA
Look around. What do you see?
Methane, ethane and who knows what
else. Titan is literally made of
hydrocarbons, enough to fuel the
Earth for another billion years.
HERZL
(pissed off)
Are you saying we did all of this
because we’re running low on gas?!
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (3) 103.
CHIEF
Shut it, Herzl!
(to Vanessa, pointedly)
Is that true, Doctor? Is it?!
VANESSA
We’re not just running low. We’ve
run out. Within a hundred years,
Earth will be completely devoid of
fossil fuels.
The troops react, incredulous.
KEIKO
What about the reserves. There has
to be enough there until we find
new sources on Earth?
HERZL
Yeah, what about drilling deeper
wells. Alaska, Siberia --
VANESSA
We did that fifty years ago; it’s
all been used up. Our voracious
appetite for oil has left the world
dry. Totally parched.
CHIEF
So we didn’t come here to stop them
from taking over our world, we came
to wipe them out and take theirs!
Jesus H. Christ! Why not just tell
us what this was all about in the
beginning?!
KEIKO
Would you have volunteered for a
suicide mission just to make gas
lines shorter?
VANESSA
We knew it was a long shot, a very
long shot. But if we could connect
with the Grull, we might be able to
tilt the balance of the civil war
in their favor, and negotiate a way
for them to live peacefully in our
oceans in exchange for our mining
their world for hydrocarbons... And
if that didn’t happen. Well, we’d
still need to stop the Vang’s plan
to colonize Earth.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (4) 104.
Yardley hears the conversation via com-link. He eases back

toward the group, keeping his eyes on the rebels, who are
getting restless.
YARDLEY
So now we don’t want to nuke the
bastards?
VANESSA
(turning to him)
No, we don’t.
YARDLEY
Then we got a problem, Doc.
EXT. MIRV LAUNCH SITE - TWILIGHT

ANGLE ON the countdown clock: 00:02:04 and counting.
Rowe is at the console punching in codes to stop the launch.
Omega soldiers watch anxiously, Titanian rebels with
unknowing curiosity.
CHIEF
Come on, don’t you know the code?!
ROWE
If I knew would I be shitting my
spacesuit now, Chief?!
CHIEF
(to Yardley)
You didn’t see the Skipper put it
in?!
YARDLEY
We were kinda busy at the time,
Chief.
Vanessa is explaining the situation to the rebel leader. She
covers her anxiety very well. A born diplomat.
VANESSA
It is a weapon intended for use on
the Vang if we were overrun.
REBEL LEADER
(suspicious)
Hmmmm. I would like to know more
of this weapon.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 105.
VANESSA
(smiles, covering)
Yes, of course. When it’s turned
off.
The Chief can’t take it any more. She shoves Rowe aside and
starts punching in random codes. The clock: 00:00:51 and
counting... She looks at Zach, lying on the ground in the
near distance.
QUICK MONTAGE - MEMORIES
The Chief thinks hard, trying to piece together events,
words, objects - anything about Zach that would give her a
clue to what the code is. FLASHES of faces, places,
missions, bar outings, his mother, his brother, girls he’s
dated, girl’s he’s loved... Maggie Ramsay.
END MONTAGE
The clock is at 00:00:9. The Chief punches in 07-25-28 and
the countdown continues, 00:00:07... The Chief blinks,
confused and stunned that Maggie’s birthday wasn’t the
code. She looks at Zach. Beat. Then she punches in
11-30-12.
The countdown clock STOPS. 00:00:02. The Chief and all of
Omega exhale, powerfully relieved.
FADE OUT.
FADE UP:
EXT. SPACE
A Titanian SPACECRAFT, like the one we saw in our opening
scenes, floats through space. In its path is a tiny SPACE
CAPSULE: the Viking One escape pod.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. TITANIAN SPACECRAFT, SICK BAY

CLOSE ON Zach’s face, eyes closed, unshaven. His eyes
open. WHAT HE SEES: the ceiling and walls are an organic,
oozing, gel-like substance.
CHIEF (O.S.)
Zach. Hi.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 106.
Zach’s eyes move to the Chief’s voice. PULL BACK and we see
her, coming toward him in a jumpsuit, her black hair longer
than Navy regulation. He sits up, stiff and in some pain.
ZACH
(groggy)
Tess, what the hell. Where are we?
CHIEF
On an alien ship. Going home. To
Earth.
Zhang steps into frame.
ZHANG
You should take it easy, Commander.
The oxygen here is much thinner
than our own. Here, chew these.
They help with oxygen absorption.
She hands him two pills. Zach pops them. Then he sees a
space-suited Titanian behind Zhang and the Chief. He
appears to be quality checking the walls. Zach’s at a loss
for words.
ZHANG
The walls generate oxygen. The
Titanians modified this ship so
that we could survive the journey
home.
CHIEF
Go figure, huh. They live in three
hundred below temperatures but
can’t make a cryo chamber.
ZACH
The team? Where are they?
INT. TITANIAN SPACECRAFT, MORGUE

The 10 surviving members of Omega, along with Zhang and
Villagra, stand behind Zach and the Chief. On tables in
front of them are the bodies of their fellow soldiers, each
draped in the equivalent of a ceremonial Grull flag.
Zach steps up to one of them and pulls back the cloth.
Vanessa appears to be sleeping peacefully, as beautiful in
death as she was in life. As Zach stares at her FACE --
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 107.
CHIEF (O.S.)
She had ovarian cancer. Less than a
year to live when we left Earth.
It’s why she went into cryo. She
wanted to live long enough to reach
the surface, just on the off chance
we came across the rebels before we
blew the place to hell.
The Chief steps up and stands next to Zach. They both look
down at Vanessa.
CHIEF
A billion to one shot that she’d be
able to do it, but she did.
(Zach looks at the Chief)
Now everybody gets what they
needed; they get a home, we get
more fuel than we can ever use...
And she got to save the world
before she died.
OFF Vanessa’s face...
INT. TITANIAN SPACECRAFT, OBSERVATION DECK

Zach and the Chief (Tess) stand together, gazing at the
stars through a large observation window.
ZACH
You know, Tess... Dr. Pettigrew may
have cut a good deal, but it was
you who saved our asses on the
surface. How’d you figure out the
code to stop the MIRV launch
anyway?
She looks at him. Squeezes his hand affectionately.
CHIEF
(loving smile)
Like I don’t know my own birthday.
DISSOLVE TO:

A birthday party is in full swing. A group of 12-year-old
GIRLS busy themselves making CRAFTS at a table.
Maddy comes out of the house holding a BIRTHDAY CAKE. Sandy
is behind her with the parents of the girls in tow.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: (2) 108.
MADDY
Alright, girls. It’s time for cake
and candles.
The girls make a space for the cake on the table. Maddy
puts it down and lights a candle shaped like a "12".
Birthday girl Maggie forces a smile. She’s not happy even
though she tries to put on a brave face.
MADDY
Alright, everybody... Happy
Birthday!
EVERYBODY
...to you! Happy Birth...
ZACH (O.S.)
(booming)
DAY TO YOU!
Maggie turns and smiles big and pretty. She runs to Zach
and they embrace. The 12-year-old girls nearly swoon.
MAGGIE
(thrilled)
Uncle Zach! I knew you’d make it!
ZACH
(that devilish smile)
You can always count on me, Kid.
Tess (the Chief), in a pretty dress, joins Maddy and Sandy
looking at Zach and Maggie’s reunion. A PHOTOGRAPHER sees
the chance for a great shot.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Mrs. Ramsay...
TESS/MADDY/SANDY
Yes.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Do you mind if I get a picture?
She SNAPS the photo. FREEZE on the image of the three
lovely Ramsay women, Navy wives...
109.
INT. RAMSAY HOME, FAMILY ROOM - DAY

We hear the PARTY going on outside. The television is on.
ON TV:
BBC REPORTER (V.O.)
The revelation earlier this week
that aliens from Titan - a moon of
Saturn - have come to Earth,
continued to rock all four corners
of the globe. In a press conference
from the White House where she was
joined by the leaders of Russia,
China and Great Britain, President
Phelps today assured the world that
the "Titanians" come in peace...
Over President Phelps’ remarks CAMERA PANS the photos on the
curio cabinet. HOLD on a now familiar portrait of the young
Ramsay family, Matthew in uniform, Sandy, 11-year-old Matt
and 6-year-old Zach, as we...
FADE TO BLACK.
THE END

TITAN by David Polk

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TITAN

176 Dusty Rose Court

SATURN - VARIOUS SHOTS

TITAN - FROM SPACE

EARTH - FROM SPACE

EXT. WOODS - DAY

EXT. CLEARING - LATER

EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - SUNSET

EXT. RAMSAY HOME - SUNSET

INT. C-130 - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

EXT. SKY - NIGHT

EXT. OCEAN - NIGHT

EXT. OIL RIG - AERIAL VIEW - NIGHT

INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

EXT. OIL RIG - BASE - NIGHT

EXT. OIL RIG - UPPER DECKS - NIGHT

INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

INT. LIVING QUARTERS - NIGHT

EXT. OIL RIG - VARIOUS DECKS - NIGHT

EXT. SUPPORT VESSEL #1 - NIGHT

EXT. SUPPORT VESSEL #2 - NIGHT

INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

INT. SITUATION ROOM

EXT. OIL RIG - DECKS/SUPPORT VESSELS - NIGHT

INT. SEAHAWK - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

INT. SEAHAWK - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

INT. CREW QUARTERS - NIGHT

EXT. OIL RIG - AERIAL VIEW - NIGHT

EXT. SUPPORT VESSEL #1 - NIGHT

INT. SUPPORT VESSEL #1, BELOW DECKS - NIGHT

INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

EXT. TOPSIDE DECK - NIGHT

INT. SEAHAWK - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

EXT./INT. C-130 - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

EXT. SUPPORT VESSEL #2 - NIGHT

INT. SEAHAWK - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

EXT. SUPPORT VESSEL #2 - NIGHT

EXT. MID-DECK - NIGHT

EXT. TOPSIDE DECK - NIGHT

INT. C-130 - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

EXT. C-130 - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

EXT. SUPPORT VESSEL #1 - NIGHT

EXT. TOPSIDE DECK - NIGHT

INT. C-130 - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

EXT. TOPSIDE DECK - NIGHT

INT. C-130 - IN FLIGHT - NIGHT

EXT. O’AHU, VARIOUS SHOTS - DAY

EXT. RAMSAY HOME, BACKYARD - DAY

INT. RAMSAY HOME, FAMILY ROOM - DAY

BBC REPORTER (V.O.)

EXT. RAMSAY HOME, BACKYARD - DAY

INT. RAMSAY HOME, FAMILY ROOM - NIGHT

INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, CAPTAIN’S QUARTERS

X.O.’S VOICE (V.O.)

INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, PASSAGEWAYS

INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, CONTROL CENTER

INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, CREW QUARTERS

INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, CONTROL CENTER

INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, VARIOUS SHOTS

INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, CONTROL CENTER

INT. USS JIMMY CARTER, CONTROL CENTER

EXT. ALIEN VESSEL